Chito Roño was officially announced as the director of the remake of Darna, the TV series. ABS-CBN was able to convince Roño to direct a series despite the director’s decision of not doing soaps anymore.
Roño said: “I found the material very exciting. Ayoko na talagang mag-soap. Matagal ko nang iniwanan ang mundo ng soap. When I heard the story, when I heard everything, nagustuhan ko. Tinanggap ko na rin.”
The director assured the production will use modern technology, and he is excited about that.
“Pero siyempre ngayon, mas modern na ang technology, so mas bago na tingnan. Bago na ‘yung gagamitin namin. Hindi na ‘yung mga lumang technology. Exciting din ‘yun.”
Roño’s last TV series was in 2013, the Filipino remake of the Mexican telenovela Maria Mercedes.
According to the award-winning director, he is an avid fan of the ‘Darna’ movies of Vilma Santos and it is also one of the reasons why he decided to accept the job.
“Si Vilma Santos ang Darna ko. Lumaki ako na iyon ang Darna na nakikita ko. Ako, ilang beses ko pinanood ang Darna before, kasi nga enjoy na enjoy ako.”
As ‘Darna’ returns on screen, Roño wishes to “bring the same experience to the kids today, that they would be excited and would love watching Darna.”
Roño also aims to maximize the available resources for the show and wishes to produce a ‘Darna’ project that is more “real” than “soapy.”
“Ang challenge ko talaga is to make sure that what we have and what is available to us is workable and will do well for the project.”
“I want ‘Darna’ to be less soapy, more real, but retain the character to be bigger than life, and obviously different from everybody else.”
Before Roño, Directors Erik Matti and Jerrold Tarog were tasked to lead the project which was supposed to be a film. However, due to some problems, they both backed out.
Mars Ravelo’s Darna: The TV Series will begin taping in November.
On October 5, Roño and the cast have met for the story conference.
Jane De Leon will play the title role of the said series. She will be joined by Iza Calzado, Zaijan Jaranilla, Joshua Garcia, Gerard Acao, Tart Carlos, Marvin Yap, Yogo Singh, Young JV, Mark Manicad, Joj Agpangan, Levi Ignacio, Richard Quan, Rio Locsin, and Kiko Estrada.
