From left, director Kim Jin-min, actors Jeon Seong-woo, Ahn Eun-jin and Kim Yoon-hye pose during a press conference for Netflix's new original series "Goodbye Earth," held at Mondrian Seoul Itaewon in Yongsan District, Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

Netflix's announcement that actor Yoo Ah-in would lead its new original series "Goodbye Earth" in 2022 raised high expectations for his performance in another dystopian series, following his success in the platform's "Hellbound."

But the series created an even bigger buzz when news of the actor's illegal drug use allegations broke out a year later. This led the platform to indefinitely postpone its release as new charges against Yoo continued to surface.

After undergoing a re-edit to remove scenes featuring Yoo, the series is finally set for release on April 24. The actor is currently on trial facing charges of abusing medical drugs on 181 occasions between 2020 and 2022.

"(Yoo's) issue surfaced during my editing of the first three episodes. Initially, I didn't anticipate it becoming complicated, so I hoped it would resolve itself. However, matters didn't progress as I had anticipated. Meanwhile, I had been considering approaching Netflix to request another edit on the episodes. Frankly, I saw it as an opportunity to continue refining the work," the series' director Kim Jin-min said during a press conference, held at Mondrian Seoul Itaewon in Yongsan District, Seoul, Friday.

"It was my job to make sure viewers weren't offended. So I edited out things that would make them feel uneasy, even adjusting (Yoo's) screen time. However, given the significance of his character, complete adjustment was not feasible...I tried very hard to make it convincing enough by editing Yoo's parts while not undermining other actors' efforts. I earnestly ask for your understanding ."

A scene from the series "Goodbye Earth" / Courtesy of Netflix

Based on the Japanese novel of the same name, the sci-fi series follows the journeys of middle school teacher Se-kyung (Ahn Eun-jin), priest Sung-Jae (Jeon Seong-woo), and commanding officer In-a (Kim Yoon-hye) who navigate the challenges posed by an asteroid rapidly approaching Earth.

With only 200 days to live, their lives become consumed by despair, chaos, and hope despite the ominous disaster that would cause the end of the world.

The director, who previously led Netflix's action series "My Name" (2021), said the story will provoke different thoughts toward dystopia.

"The series is about a trajectory heading to dystopia. Instead of centering on the fight for survival, the work poses a thought-provoking question: 'How would you live when you are on the brink of facing dystopia?' This aspect of the story intrigued me as a director," he said.

"I believe viewers will find various points to which they can relate, such as 'I didn't know one could think that way' or 'That is what I would be like.' I anticipate a range of reactions following the series' release."