Actress Lee Yoo Bi is in talks to star alongside Lee Jun Ki in MBC’s upcoming Wednesday-Thursday drama “The Scholar Who Walks the Night.”

A representative of her agency, Sidus HQ, revealed on April 9, “Lee Yoo Bi has received a casting offer for ‘The Scholar Who Walks the Night’ and is currently in the final stage of negotiations.”

If she decides to take on the role, the new historical vampire drama will mark Lee Yoo Bi’s return to the small screen just six months after wrapping up SBS’ “Pinocchio.”

Meanwhile, Lee Jun Ki has been confirmed as the male lead of the drama, whileTVXQ‘s Changmin, Kim So Eun, and Lee Soo Hyuk are looking over their casting offers.

There’s been a lot of casting news about “The Scholar Who Walks the Night,” and today, we finally get the confirmation that Kim So Eun, Lee Yoo Bi, and TVXQ‘s Changmin joins Lee Jun Ki as the leads for the new drama. Lee Jun Ki was the only one solidly confirmed until now.

“The Scholar Who Walks the Night” is a drama based on the popular webtoon by the same name. The original story is set in the Joseon dynasty and draws the story of young girl from a ruined upper-class family, who dresses up like a man to sell books. During one of her sales, she meets a vampire scholar.  Lee Jun Ki will play  the beautiful and seductive vampire scholar named Kim Sung Yeol. Lee Yoo Bi will play the cross-dressing female lead. 

While the first report on this confirmation stated that the four already did a script reading for the drama, a new report has come out to clarify that only a first meeting between the director and these four leads have been held.

This drama is expected to premiere in July after the yet to be broadcast “Agreeably Warm” completes its run. “Agreeably

Upcoming MBC series Scholar Who Walks the Night has had a whirlwind of casting rumors over the last month or so, but now the four leads have officially been confirmed as Lee Joon Ki, Lee Yoo Bi, Kim So Eun, and TVXQ's Changmin.

Just to recap, first we had rumors that Kim Soo Hyun or Park Hae Jin would play the titular vampire scholar, but Lee Joon Ki eventually took that role (I don't love vampire shows, but c'mon — his cheekbones were made for a vampire series). Then the female lead role was offered to Han Groo and Jin Se Yun, but they both backed out. When the producers announced that Kim So Eun was confirmed last week, everyone just kind of assumed that she was the female lead, the daughter of a disgraced nobleman who has to cross-dress to work in a book shop. As it turns out, that's not her role after all, and now Lee Yoo Bi is confirmed for the part. Whew! It's enough to give anyone whiplash!

So now that everyone's officially on board, here's where we stand with the series: Lee Joon Ki will play a mysterious vampire scholar. Pinocchio's Lee Yoo Bi landed her first leading role as the cross-dressing woman whose father is falsely accused of treason. Kim So Eun will be a noblewoman engaged to the Crown Prince, played by Changmin.

In addition to these roles, Jang Hee Jin will play a gisaeng. This character was originally the second female lead in the web comic on which this series was based, but now she is more of a supporting character (adding even more confusion to all of the casting news).

Last but not least, we have Lee Soo Hyuk playing the villain, a vampire who lives in the palace. Frankly, that might just be the most fitting casting of the whole bunch because he already played a vampire in Vampire Idol, and I'm not entirely convinced that he isn't a vampire in real life. (Actually, while Korea's on this whole vampire kick, can we cast him in a series about an actor who plays vampires on the screen but is actually a vampire in real life? We can call it Vampire Actor Who Walks the Night Eating Orange Marmalade and Drinking Blood.)

Lee Joon-gi and Lee Yu-bi Attend First Script Rehearsal for ‘Scholar Who Walks the Night’

MBC’s new Wednesday-Thursday television series ‘Scholar Who Walks the Night’(script written by Jang Hyun-joo, directed by Lee Sung-joon) released a photo compilation of the cast members who gathered for the first script reading session.

‘Scholar Who Walks The Night’ is a fantasy historical melodrama that will depict a story of Jo Yang-seon(played by Lee Yu-bi) who dresses up as a man and makes a living by selling books. She meets sexy and brilliant scholar Kim Sung-yeol(played by Lee Joon-gi), and finds out that he is a vampire. The drama will portray various episodes and romance between Jo Yang-seon and Kim Sung-yeol.

The released photo is a compilation of close-ups of the cast members reading the script.

Main cast members Lee Joon-gi and Lee Yu-bi are said to have well leading the practice which went on in an amicable atmosphere. They are expected to indulge in their characters.

In addition, Lee Soo-hyuk who will play evil Gui and TVXQ’s Changmin who was cast to take over the role of the crown prince also showed themselves getting into their roles this day.

Last but not least, Kim So-eun, who was confirmed to play ‘Hye-ryung’ also aroused expectations on her new role by showing a good performance in the reading session.

‘Scholar Who Walks the Night’ is set to air in July after ‘Warm and Cozy’. Along with the casts’ reading practice, the production team has started producing the drama.

There was a time when I was mildly fascinated with vampire stories—pre-Twilight, and I wasn’t even into Buffy then. Now, I’m just so over it, which is why I’m not all over this new Lee Jun Ki project despite my love for the actor. I also wish he had accepted a project that kept him out of the period setting, and in one that had a modern rom-com bent.

My whining aside, I think Lee Jun Ki and Lee Soo Hyuk will look great as vampires; they both have out-of-this-world faces. Heh. Both guys are already deep in production ofScholar Who Walks The Night, and as we’ve seen from Jun Ki, we can expect him to throw himself into his role.

Jun Ki and Soo Hyuk were recently joined by Lee Yoo Bi, Kim So Eun,Changmin, and other co-stars for the script reading of the gender-bender fantasy drama, which is due to air in July on MBC.

Characters Relationship

Kim, Sung-ryeol: Starring Lee, Joon-gi He has a strong, upright character. He is loyal to people and never fails to complete a task that he is given to those he respects. At the age of 13, he read all of the Chinese classics and got the top score in the royal state examination. At the young age of twenty he became the vice-dean to Hongmungwan. He also became an expert in giving policy advice and gained political insights that made him an astute politician. He is dedicated in serving the royal family and will not hold back his tongue in dispensing criticism when he believes the king is wrong. Because of this, he has many enemies who conspire to bring him down. Cho, Yang-sun: Starring Lee, Yu-bi As an aspiring writer, she is a bookseller in the capital Hanyang and has the most regular customers. She dresses like a boy because an old monk told her family that in order to save her life, she should live like a boy. She has a kind heart and will help people in need. After being hired as Sung-ryeol's personal book purchaser, she helps him find a secret technique that can kill Gwi. She becomes close with the crown prince Yoon because she resembles one of his best friends. But when Yoon gives her an erotic book as a gift, it leads to the death of her foster dad and she becomes separated from her family. Lee, Yoon: Starring TVXQ Chang-min He is the direct descendant of the previous king and heir to the throne. He is a playboy who always has a new woman in his bed and stays away from academic books. After he sexually molests the concubine of Prime Minister Choi Chul-jung, he is banished from the royal palace and forced to live among the citizens. When Yoon returns to the palace, he finds himself surrounded by enemies and he slowly grows his power without being noticed to solidify his power on his own terms. Choi, Hye-ryeong: Starring Kim, So-eun She is the eldest daughter of Prime Minister Choi Chul-jung who is so powerful that he can shoot down a flying bird with his will. She always wears a smile but her eyes are as cold as ice. Her father offers her as a sacrifice to Gwi to restore honor and wealth to his family. As a puppet controlled by Gwi, she marries the crown prince Yoon and becomes his princess but Yoon openly despises her. Although she is aware of Sung-ryeol, Yang-sun, and her husband Yoon planning a way to kill Gwi, she has conflicted emotions about Sung-ryeol, who has always been kind to her, and this prevents her from warning Gwi of danger they present to him. Gwi: Starring Lee, Soo-hyuk He is a vampire that feeds on people. He can control people's thoughts and has the ability to kill other vampires. He killed his master whereupon he drank his blood to become the most powerful vampire. Sung-ryeol became a vampire bitten by Gwi’s resurrected master, and Gwi knows that Sung-ryeol will come after him. To neutralize Sung-ryeol, he uses Hye-ryeong as a shield and also kidnaps Yang-sun who is dear to Sung-ryeol.