PANGLAO, Philippines — Jeffrey Oh, co-founder and chief executive officer of the record label Careless, claimed that one of their new artists Liza Soberano had a chance to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as MJ Watson.
Oh was part of a panel at the 2nd Philippine Creative Industries Summit with Vogue Philippines editor-in-chief Bea Valdes and Creative Content Creators Association of the Philippines, Inc. president Marla Rausch about branding in the Filipino creative industry.
After talking about handling Filipino artists and comparing them with artists from South Korea — praising the former — Oh shared in his closing statement a story about how Liza was approached by Marvel to audition the "iconic character" MJ, a role which would eventually go to Zendaya.
"She was not allowed because she had to do the same thing she's always been doing," Oh said, likely referencing the loveteam aspect of the Philippine entertainment industry which Liza herself admitted boxed her in and kept her from trying out other projects.
Oh admitted it might have been unwise to share that story, laughing it off with his fellow panelists, but certified what he said was true and it even proved that people were indeed looking for Filipino talent.
"Imagine a Filipina actress was a star of one of the biggest Marvel movies in history, imagine she was MJ, what that would do for Filipino entertainment," Oh continued. "But then she was in a ten-year contract, which is also unheard of anywhere else in the world."
"Should we wait 'til our biggest stars have the best chance of representing us? Should we wait 'til they're 35, 40, when their prime has passed?" Oh ended. "Why wouldn't we want to send our best, why would we lock them up all here. We shame them for trying to take risks."
However back in 2016, Liza herself denied that she was offered such a role in what would become "Spiderman: Homecoming" starring Tom Holland as the iconic web-slinger, but it was just suggested by her fans.
"It’s not really an invitation. I think it was what the fans wanted lang, fans of Marvel. I think one of them is Pinay and parang she tweeted that, parang kung merong magiging Mary Jane Watson, she would want it to be me. All my fans started retweeting it and everything but wala naman po talagang invitation," Liza had said then.
Liza did say such an offer would be a great opportunity, and that her then-rumored boyfriend Enrique Gil was fully on board especially as his mom's favorite superhero was Spider-Man.
Zendaya would go on to reprise the role of MJ in two more "Spider-Man" movies, with Filipino-American actor Jacob Batalon as Peter Parker's best friend Ned Leeds; Hawaii-based Filipino actress Mary Rivera portrayed Ned's grandmother in most recent "Spider-Man" film.
Liza signed with Careless last year after being with Star Magic since 2011 when she was 13 years old.
The actress-singer has been a hot topic of conversation since releasing a video about her career, leaving her previous management for Careless, and treading new ground with no hint of bitterness or regret in her decisions.
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