Directed by Erik Matti Music by Erwin Romulo Music director Erwin Romulo Distributed by Star Cinema | Written by Ays de Guzman Director Erik Matti Story by Mars Ravelo | |
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Produced by Erik Matti
Dondon Monteverde Based on Darna
by Mars Ravelo
Nestor Redondo Starring Angel Locsin
Krystal Brimner
Simon Pineda
Sarah Lahbati
Gina Pareño Production companies Star Cinema, Reality Entertainment Cast Angel Locsin, Vilma Santos, Sarah Lahbati, Jodi Santamaria, JC de Vera Similar Everything About Her, Honor Thy Father, On the Job, Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles, Kubot: The Aswang Chronicle | ||
Darna is an upcoming 2017 Filipino superhero film featuring the Filipino comic book character of the same name created by Mars Ravelo and Nestor Redondo. Erik Matti is set to direct the film under the production of Star Cinema and Reality Entertainment.
Contents
Premise
A celestial object crashed in the woods near a village girl, Narda. Impressed by the beauty of the "White Stone", she decided to keep it. Accidentally swallowing the stone-because of others trying to get it-she turned into a super human.
Cast
Development
On 2013, The Ravelo family gave ABS-CBN the rights to the characters created by Mars Ravelo in an agreement in 2013. ABS-CBN officially acquired the exclusive rights to 13 Mars Ravelo titles including Dyesebel, Darna, and Captain Barbell.
Pre-production
Darna was first announced in 2013 by Star Cinema, and Erik Matti was revealed to direct the film. In October 2013, Star Cinema managing director Malou Santos confirmed that actress Angel Locsin, who portrayed Darna in the 2005 GMA teleserye, would be reprising the role of the iconic superhero in an upcoming Darna movie produced by the ABS-CBN film outfit and Reality Entertainment, five months after the network earned the rights to Darna and 12 other Ravelo characters. During an interview with ABS-CBN, Angel said that the yet untitled Darna movie was one of the biggest projects ever done by the film company.
Two years later, Locsin pulled out of the Darna project. On October 26, 2015 Locsin stated on her Instagram account that she could no longer play Darna. According to a press statement from ABS-CBN, the actress was dealing with health concerns. Angel developed a disc bulge in her spine due to strenuous training. On July 2016, Star Cinema has refrained in making any casting announcements. Matti has also opted to move on to a new project for the time being instead of pushing for "Darna" to continue production. On the photo posted on The Rodmagaru Show, it is confirmed that Darna has continued in production.
Casting
Angel Locsin was supposed to reprise her role as Darna. However, Locsin developed a disc bulge in her spine and was soon considered a minor handicap because of her injury; as a result she chose to leave the project. Star Cinema then released a survey that contained a list of all possible actresses who seemed fit enough to portray Darling. This list included the likes of Jessy Mendiola, Maja Salvador, Liza Soberano, Nadine Lustre, Arci Munoz, Kim Chiu, Iza Calzado, Cristine Reyes, Ritz Azul, Julia Montes, KC Concepcion, and Kathryn Bernardo among others. Locsin also clarified on her Instagram account that ABS-CBN had already chosen the actress for Darna, but did not mention her name. On an interview with Spot.ph, Matti said that they have already found an actress for the role but still it isn't final. On September 1, on a dinner get-together hosted by ABS-CBN President-CEO Carlo Katigbak for the officer and members of Professional Artist Managers, Inc. (PAMI) and with other business unit heads of ABS-CBN network, Malou Santos officially confirmed that Angel Locsin will reprise her role as Darna. To their dismay, ABS-CBN executives could not imagine any other actress worthier than Locsin to play as Darna. Thus, they waited until Locsin was fully healed and given clearance for the movie role.
It was confirmed that Sarah Lahbati is set to portray as Valentina.
Release
Darna was initially slated for release as a 2014 Metro Manila Film Festival entry. However, the film did not finish production on 2015 due to Locsin's injury disc bulge on her spine, therefore leaving the project. But on September 1, 2016, it was confirmed that the film will be released on 2017 and Locsin will reprise her role.
Marketing
The film's first teaser trailer was released prior to the screening of 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival entries Beauty and the Bestie, All You Need is Pag-ibig, and Honor Thy Father. The short teaser stopped short of revealing the identity of the actress, but did feature her voice and shots of her figure.
Darna black logo T-shirts was made available on the ABS-CBN store.