Could it be going down the cheesy route?
The Remarried Empress is one of Naver‘s most popular webtoons. News of the K-Drama adaptation excited many fans who had hoped for a live-action series. The cast was previously finalized and the show was confirmed to air with Disney+.
On November 13, the cable released a series of stills that served as the first look into the four main characters. Shin Min Ah plays the main lead, Navier. She is a strong and elegant woman that many look up to as the perfect queen. She is dethroned when her husband takes a liking to an escaped slave, Rashta.
Lee Se Young plays Rashta. She charms the King with her innocent acting and doe-like eyes. While she steals Navier’s throne, she is secretly jealous of Navier and tries to emulate her.
Ju Ji Hoon plays Sovieshu, the King who was once married to Navier. They were childhood friends and teenaged lovers. Later, he grows apart from Navier when he feels neglected as she tends to the country. He finds affection in Rashta, only to regret his decisions later.
Lee Jong Suk plays the spirited Heinrey, the king of a foreign land. He takes a strong liking to Navier as soon as he meets her, eventually wedding her so that she can maintain her title as an Empress.
Despite the spectacular visuals, netizens seem largely unimpressed. Many feel that the story should have been adapted to a sageuk, or Korean-style drama set in the olden days. This is especially given the Westernized names that the characters wield. Others found the costumes tacky.
- The quality of the costumes…
- It’s better than I thought, but the fact that they’re using the original character names poses too high a wall for people to start watching.
- It’s definitely visuals that suit Disney.
- They should’ve just done it in a sageuk.
- Wow LOL. The male leads remind me of the scene in Penthouse where they wore wigs and danced LOL.
- Oh… Hmm.. Um…
- It would’ve been great if they remade it in an Asian style, but anyway, I’ll probably watch it out of curiosity LOL. I loved the webtoon.
This is the first time that a K-Drama is adapting a story with Western backgrounds and names. All eyes are on The Remarried Empress to see if it will end up opening new doors for the industry!