Maricel Soriano has been cast in the upcoming American rom-com, “Re-Live: A Tale of an American Island Cheerleader”.
The news was revealed by Variety, saying that the Filipino actress will be working alongside American actresses Rain Valdez and Rachel Leyco, and will be playing the role of the two actresses’ mother named Thelma.
“Having a legendary Filipino actress like Maricel Soriano strengthens our commitment to telling our stories from our authentic experiences and for our Filipinx diaspora,” said Leyco and Valdez in a statement.
“Now more than ever, this empowers us to further highlight our communities at a time when visibility must be taken to new heights to fight against the rise of anti-trans and anti-Asian violence.”
Valdez also expressed her excitement in an Instagram post, writing, “We have a mom! Philippines Legendary ‘Diamond Star’ Maricel Soriano just signed on to be in my movie playing my mom! She was always our first choice and my mum and I would watch all her movies growing up. I remember saying to my team very early on, “We need somebody like… Maricel Soriano.” And a year later, here we are! I am completely besides myself with excitement and happy tears.”
The upcoming rom-com will revolve around a character named Rowena, a transgender movie star who returns to her home in Guam for a high school reunion, planning to live out her childhood dream of becoming a cheerleader. However, her plans were affected when her mother’s cancer begins to worsen.
The movie will begin shooting on November in Hawaii and Guam.
(Photo Source: Maricel Soriano Twitter, Rain Valdez Instagram)