Star Cinema, Star Magic, and Star Hunt are officially looking for their next millennial Darna, announcing last Wednesday, May 1 through their social media accounts that they are officially opening auditions to the public.
According to the posts, the open auditions will take place at the ABS-CBN audience entrance from May 4 to 5 starting at 10am. The female hopefuls are required to be 20 to 26 years of age, at least 5’5” in height, physically fit, fluent in Tagalog, and have acting experience.
In an interview with ABS-CBN News, Star Cinema head Olivia Lamasan had already shared that numerous Star Magic artists have already auditioned for the role, stating, “We’ve had several auditions from our very own artists. We also called several talent scouts, modeling agencies, talent agencies. Even past contestants of beauty pageants and those in the field of sports – there are athletes who have already auditioned.”
The journey to remaking the film about the classic Filipina superheroine, which was previously portrayed by actress Angel Locsin, had been long and tedious. The original director, Erik Matti, resigned from his duties with the film due to “creative difference” last October and was replaced by Jerrold Tarog. A few weeks ago, actress Liza Soberano also resigned from her main role, citing a bone fracture in her finger. In a statement, ABS-CBN shared, “Unfortunately, after consultation with her doctors, it was deemed best for Liza not to pursue the project as the injury shall hamper her from effectively doing the movie stunts required.” Both Matti and Soberano started working on the film together in July 2018.
Darna is a fictional Filipino comics superhero created by writer Mars Ravelo and drawn by artist Nestor Redondo. Originally, she is a woman from earth named Narda, but after swallowing a magic white stone, she shouts “Darna” and transforms herself into a mighty warrior.