Attention, everybody! One of the hottest love teams in the Philippines, KathNiel, will soon be coming back to the big screen. But this time, they are all set for their back-to-back ~*solo*~ projects.
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No one can deny how huge of an impact reels-to-real couple, Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, have brought to the Philippine entertainment industry, whether it's on the small or big screen. Throughout the 12-year course of their pairing, the two have produced well-loved and critically acclaimed teleseryes along with successive blockbuster films.
This 2023, the couple is venturing into new endeavors as solo artists—no love teams involved. In the media conference of Kathryn's upcoming film A Very Good Girl, she narrated how the two of them discussed their solo projects.
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"I really talked to Deej [Daniel] before saying yes to the project. Sabi ko, love is it okay if I want to do something alone muna? Promise wala akong ka-love team, wala akong ka-partner. Wala muna," Kathryn said.
The talented couple want the same things for their careers at this point in their lives. Kathryn recounted how Daniel was also keen on doing unconventional films of his own. "Siya [Daniel] din gusto niya gumawa which is a project he'll be doing with Dan [Villegas] naman. So it was a personal choice for the both of us na we wanted to do something alone muna."
After their discussion, the award-winning actress thought hard about what kind of movies she would want to do alone. She then decided on the theme of women empowerment through portraying strong female characters, exactly the idea behind her two movies from Star Cinema: Elena 1944, and the aforementioned A Very Good Girl.
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"So 'pag alone, sabi ko anong gagawin ko? I want to do something na may kinalaman sa kababaihan, I want to inspire them. I want to empower them," Kathryn told the media.
Given that they are the highest-grossing love team in the country, Daniel admitted that there's actually no need for the two of them to even create films outside their pairing. But their solo projects are not aimed at promoting their love team. Rather, the actor pointed out the significance of supporting the Filipino film industry—which is their main goal.
"Totoo 'yan. Pwedeng hindi na rin namin gawin ni Kathryn ito eh. Kasi alam naman nating napakarami na eh, nandyan na 'yung series, nandyan na 'yung mga pelikula, pero maybe pwede tayong makagawa ng one for the road... Tayo din kailangan nating gawin 'yung mga parte natin na nasa industriya, nasa filmmaking na itaas 'yung standards natin para mas ma-appreciate tayo ng mga taga-panood natin. That's the goal, para sa mga pelikulang ito," Daniel explained in an April 2023 press conference.
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This year, Kathryn has picked films that would really highlight never-before-seen sides of her as an actress. She will be acting alongside Golden Globes nominee Dolly De Leon in A Very Good Girl, which will be showing in cinemas on September 27, 2023.
Following her film with Dolly is a historical movie directed by Olivia Lamasan, Elena 1944, where she plays a comfort woman during the Japanese occupation.
Meanwhile, Daniel's eyes are now focused on filming two projects. One is his dark thriller movie The Guest with veteran actor John Arcilla, which will be directed by Jerrold Tarog.
And then there's the buddy comedy inspired by National Artist for Film and Broadcast Ricky Lee's book Kung Alam Niyo Lang. Daniel will be acting in Kapag Nang Mapagod si Kamatayan, alongside his real-life buddy, Zanjoe Marudo.
But as these movies come to life, a Cathy Garcia-Molina-helmed big screen project is currently brewing for the love team's comeback project *together.* So you won't need to miss them as Kathniel for too long—and will get to enjoy their individual pursuits in the meantime!
Watch the official trailer of Kathryn and Dolly's A Very Good Girl here:
