After much speculation and with Ha Ji Won rumored to be the female lead at one stage, it was finally announced on April 9th that Soo Ae will be the female lead for the IRIS spinoff drama, Athena: Goddess of War. Soo Ae joins Jung Woo Sung and Cha Seung Won who were already chosen earlier to play the leading roles in the drama. Soo Ae plays a profiling double agent (something like Seung Hee in IRIS) in the NTS (National Anti-Terror Service) agency and will form a love triangle with Jung Woo Sung and Cha Seung Won. Taewon Entertainment expressed that after looking at a shortlist of actresses, they had decided on Soo Ae as she combined good acting skills with looks and was able to express subtle emotions easily. With the drama's title set as Athena, it's expected that Soo Ae will be playing an important role in the drama. Athena: Goddess of War, which has been called IRIS 2 is only a spinoff drama. So technically, it isn't the real sequel. � IRIS's real sequel, IRIS 2, is scheduled to be produced and broadcast in the latter half of 2011. Filming for Athena: Goddess of War will begin in Italy and Switzerland this June. They will also film in Singapore, New Zealand and more countries, six in total. The scheduled airing date is set for the latter half of 2010.