Disney+ Shows Lee Jong-suk as a Bird Five Days Before The Remarried Empress Debuts

Disney+ Korea posted a first look at Lee Jong-suk's bird transformation in The Remarried Empress on October 30, captioned with the line "Wait a moment, Prince!" and a note that the character is already flying toward the Eastern Empire to see the Empress. The drama streams exclusively on Disney+ from November 4.

The post also tagged the cast: Shin Min-a, Joo Ji-hoon, Lee Jong-suk and Lee Se-young. For years, live-action adaptations of fantasy webtoons and web novels have had to decide how literally to render their magical elements, and a human turning into a bird is one of the harder ones to get past an audience. The teaser suggests the production is leaning into the character rather than hiding the effect.

Reaction on theqoo, a major Korean community forum, was mostly warm. Several users said the bird resembles Lee Jong-suk, one said the transformation had been their biggest worry about the drama, and a few asked practical questions about what happens when the character changes back.

What theqoo users said

1. 1

   He really does look like that bird, and I can't stop laughing.

2. 2

   The actor and the bird look alike, honestly.

3. 3

   This looks like such a fun drama. Personally, the bird transformation was the thing I was most worried about.

4. 4

   That bird looks damn identical to Lee Jong-suk. It's so cute.

5. 5

   This looks like Lee Jong-suk. So cute.

6. 6

   Oh my god, isn't this too cute?

7. 7

   This turned out better than I expected. It's cute.

8. 8

   Wow... this damn well sucks.

9. 9

   So if he turns back into a human, will he be naked?

10. 10

    So he won't have any clothes when he becomes human again?