AO EXCLUSIVE: Dive deeper into the roles of Shin Min Ah, Ju Ji Hoon, Lee Jong Suk, and Lee Se Young in “The Remarried Empress”

Your new Royal obsession finally arrives on Disney+!

The Remarried Empress is based on the chart-topping webtoon of the same name, which has garnered almost 3 billion views to date, and tells the story of a perfect empress of the Eastern Kingdom named Navier Ellie Trovi, who agrees to divorce the emperor after finding out that he has a lover. She remarries a rival prince of the Western Kingdom – igniting a tale of political intrigue, romance, and a fight to reclaim her stolen power.

Ahead of the release of the most-anticipated series, an exclusive press conference was held on November 3 with the presence of the royal cast members, Shin Min Ah, Ju Ji Hoon, Lee Jong Suk, and Lee Se Young, alongside Director Cho Suwon, to dive deep into the series.

The Royal Ensemble

Director Cho said he was part of the casting process and knew it would be difficult. He shared, “At first, Jong Suk was very much interested in this project, and he was the one who gave me a lot of courage that this could be successful. This is such a dream team on set, and right now they are helping me along the way. They are doing such a great job, and I’m so happy. “

Shin Min Ah as Navier

When asked what they felt about casting them in the show, Min Ah said she read the script before she read the web novel, “I thought the script was very noble, new, and refreshing, and I’m really curious how this will be translated onto the screen,” she added. She shared that she knew this series would capture the hearts of many; the script is very tightly written, and through her role as Navier, she could show a new side of herself to everyone.

Min Ah mentioned he had a lot of thought about how to portray her character, “Compared to my previous characters, she is someone who is not so expressive, but she’s also a woman who falls in love. Those were the different sides that I wanted to focus on to show the Empress Navier and human Navier.”  She also said that she wanted to portray her own version of Navier, someone who is in charge of her own destiny, someone who overcomes betrayal but still has the choice, and to portray the very human side of Navier.

Ju Ji Hoon as Sovieshu

Ju Ji Hoon, who plays Sovieshu in the series, said that when he read the web novel, he found it striking and new. He mentioned that he was very hesitant at first to accept the role because it is different from what he usually does, but thanks to his manager and agency, they encouraged him to accept the role.

Ji Hoon said he was naturally immersed in the world of the narrative of the drama and according to him, you will hate his character more as the story progresses. He said, “I am ready as long as you are entertained; no matter how much you hate me, I am fine with that”

Lee Jong Suk as Heinrey

Lee Jong Suk, who plays Heinrey in the series, shared what drew him into this project. He answered, “I was a big fan of the web novel and the webtoon, so I heard that it was being translated onto the screen, and I knew that this was something we haven’t tried before and knew that it was going to carve out a new path, and I get to be a prince, and that’s very cool. I wanted to be a prince.”

Jong Suk also shared about his bird character, Queen, in the series and the resemblance behind it: “Queen does look like me, and we did talk about this with the production crew. I actually look like a bird, sort of; I do have a facial feature of a bird. Queen and Heinrey have to be the same person, so  if you look at the hair of the bird, it’s brown like my own, and the way he looks and moves, it’s something that they used from my features to blend into the bird character.“

The only pressure he felt was the transformation from bird to human. “There was a scene when I was transforming from a bird to Prince Heinrey, and that was an important scene because it had to be compelling enough. I asked director Cho for one more month because I needed to build my body to make sure that I looked compelling.”

Lee Se Young as Rashta

Lee Se Young said, “I have not really portrayed sort of a villain character who is sort of adorable but is also bad so I really want to try out this role, and I have collaborated with director Cho and it was after the other cast so I really want to work together with them, I could learn a lot from them so I was really happy to be part of this show. “

When asked about her areas of focus in portraying her character, she pointed out, “I thought she was very childlike because when a child is hungry, they are driven by instinct; they cry out of hunger, and I felt like that was quite similar for Rashta, where she wants to survive and live, and so that leads her to want more and desire more. So I felt like there needed to be an element of purity about her. “

Moreover, Director Cho explained how he differentiated the series from the original webtoon and web novel, saying, “The webtoon is a little more comedic and fun, while the web novel is a bit more serious. So, I wanted to strike a balance between the two, somewhere in the middle of seriousness and entertainment. I didn’t want to take anything out; I just wanted to stay true to both the original webtoon and web novel. I also hope that fans of the original IP will enjoy our show.”

The series was one of the major Korean drama highlights at the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) this year with sold-out preview screenings, and has become the most-viewed local original premiere of all time on Disney+ globally, based on 3 days of views following its launch on November 3.

The Remarried Empress was originally scheduled to premiere on November 4,  but it was moved to a day earlier on Disney+ as a special thank you to fans for their overwhelming support.

Stream it now on Disney+. Two new episodes drop every Wednesday until its finale on November 25.

All photos are courtesy of Disney+