Janella ‘personally handpicked’ by Darna director to be Valentina

The new Valentina has been revealed.

Janella Salvador will portray the role of the mortal enemy of Darna, played by Jane de Leon, in the highly-anticipated Darna: TV Series.

ABS-CBN and JRB creative Production have earlier been releasing teasers for the “Valentina Reveal” on social media which left guessing on who will take on the role of Darna’s nemesis.

This will be Janella’s comeback series after taking a break from showbiz. Her last TV series was Killer Bride, where she played a woman possessed by a vengeful bride.

Last Friday, the actress was officially introduced as lawyer-vlogger Regina/Valentina, who is cursed with venomous snakes for hair, during the live reveal on ABS-CBN’s Entertainment page.

“Good afternoon, mga Kapamilya! Ako po si Janella Salvador and I am Valentina. First of all, I’m very, very honored to be chosen among the many actresses who auditioned for this role. I’m sure they were all equally as amazing,” Janella said during her introduction.

According to JRB creative production in a statement given to The STAR, it was a long process to find Valentina and that Janella was “personally handpicked” by director Chito Roño.

Chito Roño

She added, “And I would like to take this opportunity to thank director Chito Roño and ABS-CBN for giving me the opportunity to portray this iconic role. I promise to live up to everyone’s expectations but also make it my own.”

As for her preparations, she said, “Physically, kakapanganak ko lang, I had to lose weight. I haven’t started training yet, but I look forward to (it) because I know this is a physically draining role.”

Asked if she’s ready to hold a snake, she mused, “Meron actually akong alagang ahas. She’s my new baby, its name is Versace. Sanay na tayo sa ahas.”

What do viewers can expect from her version of Valentina?

“It’s very different from the roles I’ve done before,” Janella said. “She’s a very empowered woman, she’s smart, an intellectual, kaya ako na in-love sa role na ‘to. Kasi she actually does have a good heart, hindi lang nagamit sa magandang paraan.”

“I didn’t expect to get the role because marami talagang may gusto sa role na ‘to,” added she. “Obviously, it was my first time reading for a villain. Kasi usually sanay ako sa mga roles nakukuha ko, yung mababait na roles. And this time, it’s very exciting for me because it’s a gray role. And it’s more of a dark character. I’m so excited to play around it and to get to know who she really is.”

She agreed to be a villain for the first time because “honestly I don’t see it that way.” She explained that these days, when she does projects, what she’s looking at is, “Will it help me grow, is it worth it? Is it a good character? Is it a good role to portray? Those were the factors I considered when I read for this role,” said Janella.

Jane, on the other hand, told Janella: “I’m so excited to work with you and in our next scenes together.”

The full cast of the upcoming heroine series was unveiled last October.

The cameras have also started rolling for Darna: The TV Series, which is expected to air sometime in 2022.