‘The Remarried Empress’: Trailer, Cast, Plot, Release Date & More
Disney+ has spent the past few years steadily expanding its footprint in Korean entertainment, chasing the same global appetite for K-dramas that streaming rivals have already tapped into successfully. That expansion has now produced what the studio is calling its most ambitious Korean production to date, one built around a webtoon with a fan base numbering in the billions.
That project is “The Remarried Empress,” adapted from the hit Naver Webtoon of the same name that has amassed nearly three billion views to date. The series follows Empress Navier and her husband, Emperor Sovieshu of the Eastern Kingdom, as their marriage unravels after Sovieshu falls for a runaway slave named Rashta and pursues her affection despite the political unrest already gripping the kingdom.
Disney has now confirmed “The Remarried Empress” will premiere with a four-episode drop on November 4 across Disney+ internationally and Hulu in the United States, with two new episodes releasing every following Wednesday through the show’s November 25 finale.
Rather than accepting her husband’s demand quietly, Navier agrees to the divorce on one condition: that she be permitted to marry Crown Prince Heinrey of the rival Western Kingdom. According to the show’s official synopsis, “what follows is a tale of love, lust and regret that threatens the fate of an entire kingdom as Navier strives to reclaim her power.”
That premise carries the weight of a genuinely massive built-in fan base. The source webtoon’s staggering viewership numbers made the adaptation one of Disney’s most closely watched Korean projects even before a single frame was shot, and the studio has leaned into that anticipation by giving the series a lavish, big-budget production befitting its source material’s popularity.
Shin Mina stars as Empress Navier, with Ju Jihoon playing Emperor Sovieshu, Lee Jongsuk as Crown Prince Heinrey, and Lee Seyoung as Rashta. The series was written by Yeo Jina and Hyun Choongyeol, with Cho Suwon directing, and was shot across multiple European locations alongside elaborately constructed palace sets built specifically for the production.
At its Asia-Pacific content showcase last year, Disney described “The Remarried Empress” as the most expensive Korean drama it has ever produced, a distinction that lines up with the scale of its European shoot and detailed production design. That investment suggests Disney is treating the series as a genuine tentpole release for its international content slate rather than a smaller-scale streaming addition.
Before landing on Disney+ and Hulu, “The Remarried Empress” will receive its world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival in October, where three of its ten episodes, running a combined 151 minutes, will screen as part of the festival’s On Screen section. That sidebar, introduced in 2021 to spotlight high-profile new series on the big screen ahead of their streaming release, will also feature Netflix titles “Dead-End Job” and “Blue Road” this year.
With its Busan premiere setting the stage and a four-episode launch already locked in for November, “The Remarried Empress” looks positioned to be one of the more significant international releases on Disney’s slate this fall, giving fans of the original webtoon their first real chance to see Navier’s story brought to life in live action.
What are you most excited for in The Remarried Empress?
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