After working on the Darna project for several years, Erik Matti will no longer be directing this movie starring Liza Soberano.
This was revealed by ABS-CBN and Star Cinema earlier today, October 4, in a statement emailed to PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal).
The statement from Integrated Corporate Communications Head Kane Errol Choa indicated that there were "creative differences" between Direk Erik and the Kapamilya Network.
For the past five years, Direk Erik has been working on the movie about the Pinay superheroine. Angel Locsin was initially chosen to bring life to Darna on the big screen but she had to back out of the project due to health reasons.
Here is the full statement:
"ABS-CBN, Star Cinema, and director Erik Matti have mutually decided to part ways in the filming of 'Darna' because of creative differences and to allow the filmmaker to work on his other projects under his own production company Reality Entertainment.
"ABS-CBN and Star Cinema, however, are fully committed to bringing the iconic character to the big screen for today’s generation of moviegoers to witness the story of the well-loved Pinoy comics superhero. The new 'Darna' director will be announced soon."
Last September 26, Direk Erik posted on his Twitter account:
"I want to make films where every person that is part of the film is passionately invested in making sure we execute the story in the best way possible. I’m done making movies with people who don’t embrace the project seriously. Passion supercedes professionalism."
Still, the filmmaker commended Liza Soberano by pointing out:
“Liza is perfect as Darna. She’s passionate and very committed. You can see it on how she is taking training and fitness seriously.”
Direk Erik clarified that his Twitter post about making movies is "just a random tweet about film."
