Darna (2022 TV series)

Mars Ravelo's Darna (or simply Darna) is a Philippine superhero series that aired on Kapamilya Channel. The series is based on Mars Ravelo's Philippine fictional directed by Chito S. Roño, Avel Sunpongo, Benedict Mique and Darnel Villaflor, it stars Jane De Leon in the titular role. The series premiered on the network's "Primetime Bida" evening block, Cine Mo!, A2Z Primetime Weeknights, TV5's "Todo Max Primetime Singko", and worldwide on The Filipino Channel from August 15, 2022 to February 10, 2023, replacing "FPJ's Ang Probinsyano" and was replaced by "FPJ's Batang Quiapo" on its timeslot.
ABS-CBN acquired the adaptation rights to "Darna" on June 14, 2011, alongside other comic creations of Ravelo, which was previously with GMA Network. The network originally planned for a feature film adaptation to be made under the Star Cinema banner, starring Angel Locsin as Darna and directed by Erik Matti, but the project underwent a decade-long "development hell" due to regular cast and crew changes and script rewrites. Upon De Leon's casting as Darna in 2019, principal photography began the next year, but due to a soaring budget, the project was repurposed into a developed television series by Dindo C. Perez (creative head), and Julie Anne R. Benitez (supervising producer) with a feature film still planned for release after the series finale.
Alongside its television broadcast, the series is released on the streaming service iWantTFC, as well as on YouTube for limited periods.
Premise.
In a hopeless and corrupt city plagued by criminals with special powers, a young woman finds the ability to defend the people using a powerful stone that turns her into the superhero, Darna.
In fulfilling her mission, complications arise to test her courage and inner strength. As Darna tries to embrace her role as the people's superhero, her sacrifices inspire ordinary people and awaken their own hero within.
Production.
Development.
Erik Matti signed to direct a new Darna film in 2014, with Star Cinema and Matti's Reality Entertainment co-producing the project. Matti stated that the film is aimed "to revive not just the people who Darna but also with the people who will know Darna for the first time." 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. 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. Angel Locsin, who played Darna in the 2005 TV series, agreed to reprise her role when approached by Matti. Locsin was forced out of the project following a back injury in October 2015, however, much to the consternation of Matti.
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. 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". In addition, Matti uploaded a teaser photo in January 2016 of a hooded woman to Instagram. Around this time, the lead actress for the role of Darna had yet to be revealed.
Sources reported that Matti had begun principal photography on the film in March 2018, starting with the "simpler scenes". 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. On October 5, 2018, Jerrold Tarog came on board to replace Matti. 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".
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.
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. It's said that the film will push through once the series is finished.
Casting.
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. 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. On July 17, 2019, Jane De Leon was unanimously chosen from a pool of over 300 actresses who auditioned.
On February 6, 2020, Leo Dominguez, Paulo Avelino's manager, confirmed that Avelino has been cast in the film. Tarog later confirmed Avelino's casting during a fundraiser.
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. 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. On November 19, 2021, Janella Salvador was formally introduced as the one who will play the titular heroine's nemesis, Valentina. 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 Vallesteros. On March 3, 2022, Dawn Chang was cast in an undisclosed role. Christian Bables is the latest addition to the series.
Filming.
Principal photography for the film began on January 19, 2020, shot at ABS-CBN Soundstage in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. 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 () and the coronavirus pandemic."
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, but due to De Leon guesting on the series "FPJ's Ang Probinsyano", filming for the series was postponed. 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".
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." On October 4, 2021, ABS-CBN announced that Chito S. Roño will direct the first two weeks of the series. Avel Sunpongco will act as co-director and Keiko Aquino as head writer. Roño envisions the series to be less soapy and more gritty and real. Principal photography for the series officially commenced on November 15, 2021, at the ABS-CBN Soundstage.
Marketing.
On December 21, 2020, a teaser was shown in the "Together as One in 2021" video. 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. 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. On July 7, 2022, the official trailer has been released.
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.
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.
On July 6, 2022, an official teaser poster was released.
Music.
On July 28, 2022, BGYO were announced to sing the original soundtrack of the series, entitled "Patuloy Lang Ang Lipad". It was officially released on August 14, 2022.
On September 6, 2022, producer Julie Anne R. Benitez confirmed that there are three more songs to be released for the soundtrack.
International.
"Darna" of ABS-CBN Entertainment was featured at Asia TV Forum &amp; Market (ATF) in Singapore for the 2nd annual TV Asia Screenings Festival, alongside other hit series starred by Kathryn Bernardo &amp; Daniel Padilla, Piolo Pascual &amp; Lovi Poe and more.
Following the success of the series, "Darna" was bought by the ANTV channel in Indonesia and was aired in January 10, 2023. Kiki Zulkarnain, chief program and communications officer for ANTV, noted how Darna's narrative serves as the ideal role model for younger Indonesian audiences, adding: "Darna certainly makes our programming more diverse, and we hope it will not only entertain but instill values in the youth through her acts of kindness and bravery." The series was temporarily cancelled in January 23, 2023 because Indonesia recently stopped analog TV broadcasting and shifted to digital TV broadcasting. According to ABS-CBN International Sales Division, once the transition to digital TV transmission is complete, new airing information is supposed to be made public.
Reception.
"Darna" has remained to be one of the top-rating series on television and digital since it first aired in August 15, 2022. The pilot week has accumulated more than 41 million combined views on YouTube and has consistently averaged around 230,000 live concurrent viewers per episode (compared to its rival Lolong with 14,000) on YouTube. "Darna" was the most watched show on iWantTFC throughout its run. 
Additionally, "Darna" also became the most searched show on Google, taking around 80% of all web searches in its first week, maintaining a huge lead against the four other local primetime dramas. By the end of 2022, "#Darna" has generated over 2.3 billion views on TikTok. As of January 2023, "Darna" has already accumulated around 400 million total combined views on YouTube since its pilot episode.
Critical response.
Ryan Oquiza of Rappler gave a positive review for the premiere of the series calling it "a gritty, modern retelling" that has the potential to even soar higher. Furthermore, he stated that the "Darna" series also presents an intriguing story of maturation that rewards injustice and penalizes heroism. 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. Oquiza also credited the "Darna series" as one of the shows that will help usher a new golden age in Philippine television, saying: "There has never been a greater variety and vitality for local television since the pandemic started."
Mike Diez from The Philippine Star also praised the series and gave compliments to the pacing of the story, how its origin was introduced and the performances of Iza Calzado, Jane de Leon and Joshua Garcia. He emphasized that Calzado gives the character weight and “exudes an aura of authority.” The Ravelo family said that ABS-CBN is the best platform for "Darna", emphasizing the quality of their works and of all the options that they had, the network remains to be the best choice for the comic superheroine and the rights to 13 other comic characters created by Mars Ravelo.
Manila Bulletin included two scenes from "Mars Ravelo's Darna" on their list of "'Trending stories in PH showbiz that made headlines in 2022' which includes 'Joshua Garcia and Janella Salvador’s kissing scene' that garnered more than 600,000 views on YouTube in less than 24 hours and 'Jane de Leon's transformation as Darna, calling it a "momentous scene", as well as praising her "performance, costume, and visual effects." The series also made rounds outside the country. A recent review by a viewer from Indonesia praised the show, emphasizing the acting prowess of the casts, its quality and said that he liked this version better (including Darna's warrior costume) than the last two TV adaptations from the rival network. Spiel Times ranked de Leon fourth on their list of 'Top 5 Best Darna Actresses of all time'.
Experts review.
The Biodiversity Conservation Society of the Philippines applauded ABS-CBN's take on the snake-haired supervillainess, Valentina. It has said to have showcased different kinds of “snake morphospecies”, in which two of Valentina's snakes resembles the Philippine Pit Viper and the Samar Cobra. Further adding: “While we don’t entirely approve of the common association between snakes and villainy in stories, "this new Valentina’s snake-do nicely mirrors the rich diversity of snakes (about 140 species) that we have in the country".”
Ratings.
Despite limited reach on free TV, Kantar Media Philippines reported that the pilot episode of the series ruled its timeslot, attaining a reported 19.4% in Mega Manila and 23% in Metro Manila. The series also rated 21.9% in Total Visayas and 22.2% in Rural Visayas.
AGB Neilsen Philippines also reported that the series received its highest rating of 11.1% on August 19, 2022, placing it in the 4th spot of the rating board.
Pre-debut.
The official trailer for "Darna" has garnered over 5 million views in less than 24 hours across all leading social media platforms, gaining one million views on Facebook in just 4 hours. Meanwhile, the official hashtag #DarnaTrailer immediately shot to the top of Twitter Philippines' trending list and remained there the next day.
Weekend debut.
The pilot episode was well received by audiences. Upon its first airing on both television and digital platforms, the Twitter hashtag "#Darna" became the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter Philippines and worldwide. On YouTube, the series also drew 296,334 concurrent live viewers throughout its entire run of the first episode.
The second episode maintained consistent numbers, amassing over 250,000 concurrent live viewers on YouTube, and became a trending topic on Twitter Philippines, with the tag "#FirstDarna" occupying the second spot. The series maintained its viewership in the following days up until Narda's transformation in a later episode, which became the No. 1 trending topic nationwide and second worldwide on Twitter.
Finale reception.
Mars Ravelo's Darna concluded its 26-week run last February 10, 2023 successfully and received rave reactions from the viewers. The finale episode became the No. 2 trending topic on Twitter Philippines with over 30,000 tweets. The series' finale episode also peaked at a combined 245,059 live viewers, becoming the most watched series of its timeslot online. As a tribute, the fans of Jane de Leon and Janella Salvador initiated their third effort for a digital billboard displayed at Times Square in New York City.