Jerrold Tarog wants to avoid directing a campy "Darna"
19 Jul – Now that he is helming the "Darna" project, award-winning director Jerrold Tarog strives to show a different version of the comic superhero than the one fans are familiar with since childhood.
As reported on Rappler, the filmmaker, who spoke about the project in a podcast recently, shared that he doesn't want to direct another campy superhero movie, but one with a little introspection.
"The reason why I accepted Darna is because there is an opportunity to put some shades of grey in its mythology. [We] have the aspirational idea of a hero, but I want to break it, deepen it, and bring it down in such a way that you can think of whether you are doing the right thing, that you won't just fly off, trying to save the day without thinking of the consequences," he said.
Tarog also believes that the comics rushed Darna's origin, and never tried to explore the complex side of becoming a superhero.
"[In the upcoming movie] Narda is like a fresh grad and has doubts about whether she really deserves her power. That's the main thread, the notion of whether she is deserving of this," he said.
Tarog stressed that the coming-of-age theme was actually the idea of the film's original director Erik Matti, who left the project last year.
This week, ABS-CBN announced that it has already cast its new Darna - the relatively unknown actress Jane de Leon - after auditioning hundreds of actresses. de Leon replaced Liza Soberano, who had to leave the project after injuring her finger.
Soberano herself was the studio's second choice, after its original pick Angel Locsin also had to withdraw from the movie due to her back injury.
(Photo Source: CNN Philippines)
