The Remarried Empress has made an early entrance. Disney brought the Korean fantasy romance forward by a day, releasing its first four episodes on November 3 instead of November 4.
The change was announced at a press conference in Korea, giving fans an immediate start on a story in which a royal divorce becomes a formidable act of reinvention.
Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha’s Shin Mina plays Navier, the empress of the Eastern Empire, whose marriage unravels when Emperor Sovieshu falls for Rashta, a runaway slave. Navier agrees to his request for a divorce, but sets a condition of her own: permission to marry Crown Prince Heinrey of the rival Western Kingdom.
Ju Jihoon plays the emperor, with Lee Jongsuk as Heinrey and Lee Seyoung as Rashta. The series adapts a Naver webtoon that Disney says has drawn almost three billion views. Its preview screenings at the Busan International Film Festival sold out.
The opening instalments are streaming on Disney+ in the UK and on Disney+ and Hulu in the US. Two further episodes follow each Wednesday from November 11, with the ten-part series concluding on November 25.
