Kathryn Bernardo’s upcoming roles: ‘eating the rich’ and a comfort woman seeking revenge

Box office queen Kathryn Bernardo celebrated her 27th birthday by dropping news on her awaited return to the big screen after 2019’s “Hello, Love, Goodbye.”

The actress has unveiled two upcoming projects for the 30th anniversary of Star Cinema, taking on roles she’s never done before on Petersen Vargas’ “A Very Good Girl” and Olivia Lamasan’s “Elena 1944.”

“A Very Good Girl”

Bernardo will star in “A Very Good Girl” with Golden Globe nominee Dolly De Leon. “It’s going to be a dark comedy, but with a lot of sass and class. We want to serve this fantasy of representing the frustrated and powerless generation through Kathryn’s character,” film director Vargas describes.

Screenwriter Dom Mancol adds, “I feel like [Bernardo] can pull off the ‘eat the rich’ concept. I want to tell it from the perspective of the young… and send a very clear message—you can rig the system but the young will find a way to outwit you.”

The central image of the teaser poster is a woman’s hand, presumably that of Bernardo’s character, wearing black nail polish and expensive jewelry and raising a middle finger. So we’re guessing there’s going to be a hint of deception and scheming in the vein of “Parasite” or even “Ocean’s 8.”

We’ve seen her co-star De Leon in projects similarly critical of the rich like “Triangle of Sadness” and “Dirty Linen.” We’re hoping their characters will be teaming up but if De Leon plays the rich antagonist, it’ll be a nice twist, too.

Creative manager Carmi Raymundo recounts her conversation with De Leon. “Nung pini-pitch namin sa kanya, sabi niya, ‘Sino ’yung makakasama doon sa pelikula?’ When we said Kathryn Bernardo, immediately nag-light up si Ms. Dolly… Kasi sabi niya, ‘I don’t know if she remembers but we worked together when she was very little.’ Tapos sabi niya, ‘Noon pa lang nakitaan ko she’s very professional, she’s very humble.’”

“Elena 1944”

Another film we’re keeping our eyes on is historical action-drama “Elena 1944,” based on Patrick Valencia’s Palanca award-winning screenplay “The Revenge of the Comfort Woman.” Bernardo will take on the role of Elena, a comfort woman during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. Lamasan calls it Bernardo’s “most daring role yet.”

Bernardo admitted that the first time it was pitched to her, she wasn’t ready for it yet. Now, she wants to take on the challenge. “I turned 27. And mas ready na si Deej (Daniel Padilla), mas ready na si mama. I think ’yung fans, sila talaga (’yung consideration). ’Yung fans most especially, ready sila,” she said.

“More daring, ’yun ang medyo bago sa kanila and it’s something about ni-re-represent ko ’yung pagkababae ko and I love to do something like that representing women [and] women empowerment,” Bernardo said about both projects. We love that we got to hear this news before the end of Women’s Month.

Aside from these, Bernardo is also set to star in two KathNiel movies with director Cathy Garcia-Molina. Which one are you most excited for?

Photo from Star Cinema

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