Darna is a Philippine superhero series broadcast by Kapamilya Channel. The series is based on Mars Ravelo's Philippine fictional character of the same name. Directed by Chito S. Roño, Avel Sunpongco and Benedict Mique, it stars Jane De Leon in the titular role. The series premiered on the network's Primetime Bida evening block, A2Z, TV5, a pay network set up by ABS-CBN Corporation with simulcast on the broadcaster's other networks Cine Mo! and worldwide on The Filipino Channel on August 15, 2022 replacing the 7-year run of FPJ's Ang Probinsyano.

The series is streaming online on YouTube with english subtitles.^[1]

When fragments of a green crystal scatter in the city and turn people into destructive monsters, Narda embraces her destiny as Darna—the mighty protector of the powerful stone from Planet Marte.^[2]

Jane de Leon as Darna/Narda (left) and Janella Salvador as Valentina/Regina (right).

Main cast

• Jane De Leon^[3] as Darna / Narda Custodio: a young emergency medical technician, who will take on the role of Darna from her mother.
• Joshua Garcia^[4] as Brian Robles: a young police officer and EMT, Brian is Narda's love interest.
• Janella Salvador^[5][6] as Valentina / Regina Vanguardia: a lawyer and vlogger who is cursed with venomous snakes for her hair, Valentina is Darna's ultimate rival.
• Zaijian Jaranilla^[7] as Ricardo "Ding" Custodio: Narda's younger brother and sidekick, Ding is skillful with technology and computer games.

Supporting cast

• Rio Locsin^[8] as Roberta Ferrer-Custodio
• Paolo Gumabao^[8][9] as Noah Vallesteros
• Simon Ibarra^[8] as Mayor Zaldy Vallesteros
• Young JV^[8] as Andre Abesamis
• Richard Quan^[8] as Rex Vanguardia
• Yogo Singh^[8] as Jiro Romero
• L.A. Santos^[8] as Richard Miscala
• Joj Agpangan^[8] as Mara Fernandez
• Viveika Ravanes^[8] as Rubi Carbonell
• Marvin Yap^[8] as Gardo Laracruz
• Zeppi Borromeo ^[8] as Oleg Mendoza
• Gerald Acao^[8] as Pancho Paras
• Eric Fructoso as Pineda
• Jeffrey Santos as Antiporda
• Mark Manicad^[8] as Ali Policar
• Levi Ignacio^[8] as Rolando Villalobos
• Dawn Chang^[10] as Maisha

Guest cast

• Iza Calzado^[11] as Zora/Darna/Dr. Leonor Custodio: a “prime warrior” from Planet Marte. A medical professional and mother of Narda & Ding.^[7] She is the original Darna who will pass on the magical stone to her daughter Narda before she dies in battle.^[12]
• Joem Bascon as Danilo Custodio
• Joko Diaz
• Dominic Ochoa as Javier Toledo

Erik Matti signed to direct a new Darna film in 2014,^[14][15] with Star Cinema and Matti's Reality Entertainment co-producing the project.^[16] Matti stated that the film is aimed "to revive not just the people who knows [sic] Darna but also with the people who will know Darna for the first time."^[17] Producing a unique storyline posed a challenge to the director, as he did not want to be accused of copying from other big superhero movies such as those produced by Marvel Studios.^[18] Matti envisioned the film, to be titled Darna, as a coming-of-age story that is serious in tone (similar to that of The Dark Knight Trilogy) but with gore aplenty.^[18][19] Angel Locsin, who played Darna in the 2005 TV series, agreed to reprise her role when approached by Matti.^[14][20] Locsin was forced out of the project following a back injury in October 2015, however, much to the consternation of Matti.^[15][21]

A teaser trailer for Darna was shown during the 2015 Metro Manila Film Festival, whose visual effects were provided by Mothership VFX, the same company that worked on some of Matti's earlier films.^[16] According to Matti, the teaser was released ahead of the then-upcoming 2016 election as a ruse to make audiences think that Matti's next film was "politics-related".^[17] In addition, Matti uploaded a teaser photo in January 2016 of a hooded woman to Instagram.^[16][17] Around this time, the lead actress for the role of Darna had yet to be revealed.^[16]

Sources reported that Matti had begun principal photography on the film in March 2018, starting with the "simpler scenes".^[22][23] On October 4, 2018, however, ABS-CBN released a press statement announcing that Matti had parted ways with the network as well as Star Cinema "due to creative differences", and that the studio was closing in on a new director.^[24] On October 5, 2018, Jerrold Tarog came on board to replace Matti.^[25] In December 2018, Tarog revealed that he had begun working on a new script and costume for the film, the latter he said would be "more practical".^[26]

Tarog has said he would retain Matti's vision of making the film a coming-of-age story while also creating a more nuanced origin story that deviates from the previous Darna films and their source comic, which he felt "rushes Darna's origins". He also added that his version will eschew the "campy" portrayal of most Filipino superheroes in favor of telling a nuanced and introspective story where the actions of the superhero have consequences in the real world.^[27]

With the postponed production of the film, ABS-CBN announced on December 4, 2020 that it will develop a television series titled Mars Ravelo's Darna slated to air in 2022 and starring Jane de Leon.^[28] It's said that the film will push through once the series is finished.^[29]

While Darna was still in development as a film, several actresses had auditioned to replace Locsin when she backed out in 2015, including Liza Soberano, KC Concepcion, Jessy Mendiola, Nadine Lustre, Sarah Lahbati, and Sarah Geronimo. Soberano replaced Locsin by May 2017.^[15] In April 2019, however, ABS-CBN released a press statement announcing that Soberano had left the project due to a finger bone injury she acquired during production for the network's 2018 TV series Bagani, and that the studio had begun casting on a new actress.^[30] On July 17, 2019, Jane De Leon was unanimously chosen from a pool of over 300 actresses who auditioned.^[31]

On February 6, 2020, Leo Dominguez, Paulo Avelino's manager, confirmed that Avelino has been cast in the film.^[32][33][34] Tarog later confirmed Avelino's casting during a fundraiser.^[35]

Even as the film was reconceived as a television series, De Leon was kept on board to portray the titular character for the series. On August 12, 2021, Iza Calzado was cast to portray the first Darna and Narda's mother.^[36][37] On October 5, 2021, Kiko Estrada, Richard Quan, Simon Ibarra, Levi Ignacio, Joj Agpangan, Mark Manicad, Young JV, LA Santos, Yogo Singh, Zeppi Borromeo, Marvin Yap, Tart Carlos, and Gerald Acao were announced as cast additions including Joshua Garcia as the male lead and Zaijian Jaranilla as Ding.^[8] On November 19, 2021, Janella Salvador was formally introduced as the one who will play the titular heroine's nemesis, Valentina.^[38] On February 17, 2022, behind the scenes photos revealed Paolo Gumabao has joined the cast of Darna. On March 1, 2022, Gumabao was confirmed to have taken over Kiko Estrada's role as Noah Ballesteros.^[9] On March 3, 2022, Dawn Chang was cast in an undisclosed role.^[10] Christian Bables is the latest addition to the series.^[39]

Principal photography for the film began on January 19, 2020,^[40] shot at ABS-CBN Soundstage in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.^[41][42] However, on August 21, 2020, ABS-CBN officially postponed production on the film due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a week after the network announced that it had "scrapped" the project "because of the film's big budget (₱140 million) and the coronavirus pandemic."^[43][44]

On December 4, 2020, during the contract signing of Star Magic artists, it was announced that the Darna film project will become a TV series in 2021. On December 21, 2020, during the teaser for Darna in the "Together as One in 2021" video, De Leon said that filming will start in January 2021,^[45] but due to De Leon guesting on the series FPJ's Ang Probinsyano, filming for the series was postponed.^[46][47] On February 5, 2021, during a press conference, De Leon stated that the new Darna project will be very modern and her Darna character will be very "millennial".^[48]

On July 28, 2021, ABS-CBN announced that the series will start filming in early September 2021 but the schedule was changed to November to give more training time for De Leon, meanwhile De Leon is filming her remaining episodes on her guest role in Ang Probinsyano.^[49] On October 4, 2021, ABS-CBN announced that Chito S. Roño will direct the series.^[50] Avel Sunpongco will act as co-director and Keiko Aquino as head writer.^[51][52] Roño envisions the series to be less soapy and more gritty and real.^[53] Principal photography for the series officially commenced on November 15, 2021, at the ABS-CBN Soundstage.^{[54][55][56][2][57]}

On December 21, 2020, a teaser was shown in the "Together as One in 2021" video.^[58] On December 19, 2021, a 45-second teaser was shown on the ABS-CBN Christmas Special 2021 together with their other upcoming projects for 2022.^[59][60] On May 16, 2022, a new 45-second teaser which has the same clips plus additional scenes that were not in the last teaser was released on social media.^[61] On July 7, 2022, the official trailer has been released.^[62]

On June 13, 2022, a tease image went viral after ABS-CBN’s social media pages temporarily changed their profile and cover photos to a different logo which resembles Darna’s headdress which indicates that it’s nearing its premiere. The tease image asks "Nasaan si Darna?" ("Where is Darna?") which made it viral. It gathered a lot of reaction as well as people commenting their excitement for the show, some having witty responses, while others doing photos with their Darna costumes.^[63]

On June 16, 2022, a Darna mural was unveiled to showcase empowerment, heroism, and hope dedicated to the frontliners and everyday heroes. The mural also represents a hero on every person bringing hope and positivity to uncertainties and realities.^[64]

On July 6, 2022, an official teaser poster was released, hinting some hidden Easter eggs for the series.^[65]

On July 10, 2022, Jane de Leon, Joshua Garcia and Zaijian Jaranilla visited the ToyCon PH 2022 event at SM Megamall.^[66][67][68]

On July 28, 2022, the Darna character made rooftop appearances in several Robinsons Malls in Metro Manila and in ABS-CBN's ELJ Communications Center.^[69]

On August 13, 2022, majority of the cast members went to Taguig City to promote the series.

On July 28, 2022, BGYO were announced to sing the original soundtrack of the series, entitled "Patuloy Lang Ang Lipad".^[70] It was officially released on August 14, 2022.^[71]

The official trailer for Darna has garnered over 4 million views in less than 24 hours across all leading social media platforms, gaining one million views on Facebook in just 4 hours.^[72] Meanwhile, the official hashtag #DarnaTrailer immediately shot to the top of Twitter Philippines' trending list and remained there the next day.^[72]

The comeback of the beloved comic superhero was well-received by the public. Upon its first airing in both television and digital platforms, the official tag #Darna immediately became a No. 1 trending topic on Twitter in the Philippines and worldwide. On YouTube, the series also drew a stunning 296,334 concurrent live viewers throughout the entire run of the first episode. The series was also also one of the most watched shows on iWantTFC upon its premiere in August 15, 2022.^[73] According to AGB Nielsen NUTAM, the pilot episode pulled a 10.5% rating, debuting at No. 5 despite considerably limited free TV reach.^[74][75]

The second episode of the series managed to maintain consistent numbers, with over 250,000 concurrent live viewers at peak on YouTube and dominated the trending list of Twitter Philippines, with the tag #FirstDarna occupying the second spot.^[76] The series also saw a slight increase in ratings via AGB Neilsen, getting 10.6% rating in its second day.

Ryan Oquiza of Rappler gave a positive review for the premiere of the series calling it "a gritty, modern retelling" that has potential to even soar higher. Furthermore, he also stated that the Darna series also presents an intriguing story of maturation that rewards injustice and penalizes heroism.^[77]

Oquiza also praised the performances of Iza Calzado, Janella Salvador and Jane de Leon. He described Calzado as the one who stole the show stating that her portrayal as the "First Darna" possesses the gravitas of Angel Locsin and the bravado of Anjanette Abayari.^[77]

• List of programs broadcast by Kapamilya Channel
• List of programs broadcast by A2Z (Philippine TV channel)

• Darna at IMDb