Jane De Leon has been hard at work in preparation for her role as Darna, and recently, the actress revealed that Angel Locsin's 2005 version of the Pinay superhero really stood out for her.
In an interview during a press conference for a brand she's endorsing, Jane revealed that she watched all the Darna movies and series stating, "Lahat naman po, actually, tumatak po talaga, siyempre, Ms. Angel."
Jane said, "May mga binigay naman siya sa aking mga tips, siyempre kailangan ko talagang maging handa physically and ready dapat ako anytime. Sabi niya sa akin, kapag pagod ako, sabihin ko lang daw talaga na I need to take a rest."
Jane, who has given a sneak peek of her Darna costume in an Instagram post she shared early this month, also talked about how she felt when she wore the costume for the first time.
"Nag-fitting na po ako and nasuot ko na rin po yung costume, surprise po 'yan. Yung headdress pagkasuot po sa akin, mangiyak-ngiyak na po talaga ako, umiyak po talaga ako. After ilang years, 2019 po kasi ako in-announce and nasukat ko yung costume last year. Parang doon lang po talaga sa akin nag-sink in na, this is it," Jane said.
This past week, Jane shared the teaser video for the upcoming series directed by Chito S. Rono with Avel Sunpongco. She captioned her post with the famous line: "Ding, ang bato!"
Jane was announced to be the lead star of Mars Ravelo's Darna in 2019 after besting 300 actresses who also auditioned for the role. ABS-CBN Films' Managing Director, Olivia Lamasan said tha they saw something special in Jane: "Natuwa nga ako na isa siya sa mga nag-audition. Sabi ko, 'Ay, there’s something about her.' Pati si Direk Lauren [Dyogi] said 'There's something about her.' Bilang filmmakers, may nakikita kami."
The series started filming in November 2021, and Jane shared in an interview, "Kinikilig ako na excited na kinakabahan, sa totoo lang." The actress also said that to prepare for the role, she dieted by limiting her carbs and even did compound exercises.