This article was first published on 29 October 2021.
ICYMI, a Princess Hours remake was confirmed in 2022, 16 years after the original series aired in 2006. Fans went into a frenzy about which ‘new generation’ Korean stars should play the main cast since it’s a beloved series not just in South Korea but also in different parts of Asia. A poll was even conducted by Kpopmap, to which the remake's production company head Park Yeong Bae reacted with delight.
However, the remake got delayed for so long that we ended up wondering whether it was still going to happen. Well, good news! GROUP8, the production company of the original series that's also in charge of this new version confirmed that production is already plotted for the second half of 2023, with earlier 2024 as the pilot's projected release date.
With no casting news yet, we want to place our bets on who will play the drama’s ‘big four’. The roles previously belonged to Yoon Eun-Hye (Coffee Prince, Go Go Song), Ju Ji-Hoon (Kingdom), Kim Jeong-Hoon (Pacific Rim: Uprising), and Song Ji-Hyo (Was It Love?). Do our picks match yours? Let’s find out.
Moon Ga-Yeong as Shin Chae-Kyeong
Bae Suzy (Start Up), Kim Yoo-Jung (Lovers Of The Red Sky), and Kim Soo-Hyun (Love Alarm) are some of the top fan choices for the drama’s main character, Shin Chae-Kyeong. However, Moon Ga-Yeong is our top pick to lead the Princess Hours remake.
Unlike the other actresses mentioned who already have a long list of iconic roles, Moon Ga-Yeong only has Lim Jugyeong from True Beauty on hers at the moment. It would be exciting to see her lead another drama that would push the potential we saw in her previous work further.
Ga-Yeong’s portrayal of Jugyeong proved her ability to balance comedy and drama, which is the heart of Chae-Kyeong’s character. Plus, her effective portrayal of transforming from ‘ordinary-looking’ to ‘princess-like’ (at least from a drama perspective) as exhibited in True Beauty will also definitely come in handy in Princess Hours.
Ahn Hyo-Seop as Crown Prince Lee Shin
The Doctor Romantic 2 star topped the polls for the role of Crown Prince Lee Shin along with Park Bo Gum (Encounter), Hwang In-Hyeop (True Beauty), and Song Kang (Nevertheless). We’re all for it! The actor certainly has the acting prowess to pull off Lee Shin’s smug and indifferent attitude even with such a gentle face. His past works also proved that he portrays emotional scenes exceptionally well, which would be perfect when Lee Shin’s lonely backstory gets revealed.
Song Kang as Lee Yul
SF9’s Rowoon (Extraordinary You) and Na In Woo (Mr. Queen) were voted as potential contenders to play second lead Lee Yul. But we’d like to cast Song Kang for this Princess Hours remake role instead. We’re pulling him out from the Lee Shin lineup because we think it’s about time we see him in a gentle role after his portrayal of the toxic Jae-Eon from Nevertheless,. His strong features would provide the perfect contrast to Ahn Hyo-Seop’s softer features and make the dynamic between the two characters even more interesting.
Jo Bo-Ah as Min Hyo-Rin
Meanwhile, we’re choosing neither of content head Park Yeong Bae’s choices, Han So-Hee (My Name) and Go Min-Si (Sky Castle), as our Min Hyo-Rin. Instead, we’re going with former Tale Of The Nine-Tailed star, Jo Bo-Ah. She’s not participating in the Nine-Tailed sequel (to our disappointment) so we’d love to see her in another intriguing role. Min Hyo-Rin is complex; she’s not the antagonist of the story but a girl torn between love and passion. We believe Jo Bo-Ah will perfectly capture the many layers to Min Hyo-Rin’s character the same way she did for Nine-Tailed’s Ji-Ah.
We’re still not sure when new details about the Princess Hours’ remake cast would arrive. But we’re crossing fingers that at least one of our bets (if not all) makes the final lineup. Whatever the results will be, you know we’ll be fawning over this drama.
(Cover photo from: viki.com)
Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at [email protected].
Related Articles
