Disney’s live-action adaptation of the hit Naver webtoon premieres November 4 on Hulu and Disney+. The source material wrapped in January after 247 chapters and seven years, which means Disney is adapting a story with a known ending.
Disney has dated its adaptation of one of the most successful webtoons of the last decade.
The Remarried Empress premieres November 4, 2026 on Hulu and Disney+, with the first four episodes arriving at once.
Trailer:
What the story is about
The series follows Empress Navier and her husband, Emperor Sovieshu, of the Eastern Kingdom.
Their marriage fractures when Sovieshu falls in love with a runaway slave and moves to make her his own. Rather than fight to keep a husband who no longer wants her, Navier agrees to his terms on one condition: that she be permitted to remarry Crown Prince Heinrey of the rival Western Kingdom.
Disney describes what follows as a story of love, lust, and regret that threatens an entire kingdom as Navier works to reclaim her power.
The cast
Four leads carry the series:
Shin Mina (Karma, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha) as Empress Navier
Ju Jihoon (Light Shop, The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call) as Emperor Sovieshu
Lee Jongsuk (Big Mouth) as Crown Prince Heinrey
Lee Seyoung (The Red Sleeve, The Crowned Clown) as Rashta
Cho Suwon, who directed Still 17 and Pinocchio, helms the series. Yeoh Geena and Hyun Choongyeol adapted it for screen.
Where the story actually started
The webtoon most people know is the second version of this story, not the first.
Alphatart wrote The Remarried Empress as a web novel, serialized on Naver Web Novel from November 2018 through March 2020, with chapters collected into eight volumes.
The novel built enough of a following that English fan translations began appearing online well before any official release existed.
The webtoon adaptation launched on Naver Webtoon in October 2019, with art by SUMPUL and adaptation by HereLee, while Alphatart stayed on as writer. The English version followed on September 6, 2020, through WEBTOON.
It charted consistently near the top of the WEBTOON app and earned its own panel at New York Comic Con 2022.
It just ended in January
Here is the detail that matters for the adaptation.
The Remarried Empress published its final installment, Chapter 247, on January 15, 2026, closing a seven-year serialization. Alphatart followed with a post-series author’s note a week later.
Disney’s adaptation arrives roughly ten months after the source material finished.
That is an unusual and advantageous position. Adaptations of ongoing series risk catching up to their source or diverging from an ending the author has not written yet. This one starts with the complete story on the table, including how it resolves.
247 chapters, ten episodes
The compression is the obvious question.
The release schedule runs four episodes on November 4, then two new episodes each Wednesday through November 25. That works out to ten episodes total.
Two hundred forty-seven webtoon chapters, plus an eight-volume web novel, condensed into ten hours of television.
Something has to go. Which threads survive is the thing readers of the webtoon will be watching for, and Disney has not detailed how closely the adaptation follows the source.
Disney and Webtoon keep circling each other
Disney has brought more than 20 comics to Webtoon’s vertical-scroll format, housed in a dedicated Disney section of the English-language app, and the two companies are building a new digital comics platform together.
In August, Disney Publishing announced Disney Cursed Love, a romantasy webcomic line launching on Webtoon, with its first entry pairing Belle and the Beast.
So Disney is publishing original material on Webtoon while simultaneously adapting Webtoon’s biggest properties for its streaming services. The Remarried Empress is the most prominent example of the second half.
The release schedule
Everything lands in a tight four-week window.
November 4, first four episodes
November 11, two episodes
November 18, two episodes
November 25, final two episodes
For anyone who read all 247 chapters across seven years, the whole thing wraps in three weeks.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
What’s On Disney Plus (September 16, 2026), Roger Palmer’s report on the premiere date, the release schedule, the full cast, the creative team, and the series synopsis
Anime News Network (January 25, 2026), the webtoon’s conclusion at Chapter 247, the seven-year serialization, and the SUMPUL and Alphatart credits
Wikipedia (retrieved September 2026), the web novel serialization dates on Naver Web Novel and the October 2019 webtoon launch
Quo Vadis (November 2024), the September 6, 2020 English release date and the New York Comic Con 2022 panel
Disney Parks Blog and Variety (August 2026), the Disney and Webtoon partnership details and the Disney Cursed Love announcement
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