THE CALLS of fans for actresses Jane de Leon and Janella Salvador to reunite in another project have been heard.
The IdeaFirst Company revealed on Monday that the two “Darna” leads will star in “How to be a Good Wife,” a new film directed by Jun Robles Lana.
“J x J x J = Janella Salvador and Jane de Leon in a new film by Jun Robles Lana!” announced the creative content firm on X (formerly Twitter).
Lana, a Palanca award-winning director, thrilled fans by sharing a few snaps on his Instagram stories from the film’s story conference on Monday.
Further details about “How to be a Good Wife” such as its plot are still under wraps, but the filmmaker said it will have an unexpected storyline.
The script is written by Keavy Eunice Vicente and Fatrick Tabada.
“I read the script on my long flight back from NYC. I was jet lagged and exhausted after weeks of back-to-back engagements, but I couldn’t put the script down,” said Lana.
“It’s smartly and deliciously written, not the story you expect it to be. Thank you for this gift, Fat and Keavy,” he continued.
Regal Entertainment Inc. announced that veteran actress Susan Africa will join Salvador and De Leon in “How to be a Good Wife.”
The three actresses were present at the story conference based on photos that Salvador shared on X.
“Excited to work on this new film with Ms. Susan Africa and [hindi ko kilala],” she said in jest, partly cropping De Leon out of the picture.
Salvador posted another photo of her hugging De Leon from the back, saying, “[C]hareng SO HAPPY TO WORK WITH YOU AGAIN MWAH @Imjanedeleon.”
De Leon responded to Salvador’s post and said, “Ikaw pala yan, akala ko kung sino. May bayad po per yakap hihi.”
In another post, De Leon said that they were ready for Lana’s forthcoming film.
While the plot has yet to be unveiled, shippers of the JaneNella tandem continued to hope that the actresses’ new project will be a Girls’ Love or GL movie.
The strong chemistry between Salvador and De Leon also made a non-JaneNella fan excited about their film.
GL possibility
Fans began shipping Salvador and De Leon when they starred in the 2022 television series “Darna,” despite their characters not being romantically involved with each other.
De Leon portrayed the role of superheroine Darna, whose arch nemesis is the snake-haired supervillain Valentina, played by Salvador.
Viewers noticed the chemistry between the two actresses when the human alter egos of their characters, Narda and Regina, became friends in the series.
Aside from JaneNella, fans also dubbed their tandem as DarLentina.
It can be recalled JaneNella shippers asked the “Darna” stars about the possibility of working on a GL project during their TikTok live in August. The actresses did not confirm anything at that time, but Salvador gave a hopeful answer and told fans to put their trust in them.
The two actresses have expressed their willingness to star in a GL project.
De Leon played a queer role in her past projects, including in an episode of legal drama anthology show “Ipaglaban Mo!”
