A ‘modern, functional’ Darna costume for Liza Soberano

Fan design by Gpao Villeza

After young actress Liza Soberano confirmed that she would be playing Darna in the superhero franchise’s first movie since 1994, artists and netizens alike began posting on the internet their different takes on how the new costume should look like.

But while director Erik Matti said he had seen a lot of such concept art, he said the Darna team had already been working with a yet-to-be-named costume-maker tasked with coming up with a “contemporary” design that’s faithful to how it was envisioned in the comic book by the character’s creator, Mars Ravelo.

“We haven’t had a film version of Darna in about 23 years so it’s important for us to present the character in the best way possible,” he told reporters at a recent press conference.

Art by Vincent Aseo

Matti said the reimagined costume would be “modern and utilitarian.”
“We want something functional—it shouldn’t be all about the aesthetic or cosmetic aspects. It’s not something that’s just trying to be sexy; hindi lang ’yung basta nilagyan ng bra or panty,” said Matti, adding that Liza was the “unanimous choice” to play Darna.

“She’s fresh, young and could grow into the role—it’s a franchise, she’s not going to come out in just one [film],” he said. “From a sweet actress, she may graduate into a more serious one.”

Meanwhile, asked to comment on rumors that Daniel Padilla would be Liza’s leading man in the film, Matti declined to give a definite answer. “Unfortunately, I can’t say yet who her partner will be,” he said.

Liza’s manager, Ogie Diaz, however, categorically denied the speculations in an earlier Facebook post.

Fan-created image of Liza Soberano as Darna—Dennis M. Cuadra