Regine Velasquez as Elektra

Regine Velasquez is set to shine anew in GMA-7’s soon to air teleserye entitled “Diva.” But in the meantime, the country’s diva is going to raise eyebrows and make “Darna” followers laugh with her when she appears in the fantasy series as Darna’s latest nemesis Elektra – Queen of Planet Women.

Regine, who once played Darna in a movie, expressed excitement in taking the role of an antagonist to the primetime heroine. And it would be a different experience indeed because her character belongs to the “evil side!”

“Actually I’ve never played a ‘kontrabida’ before nor an alien,” she shared. “Actually my character, even in the original version, is not bad. My character specifically won’t be made into a terrifying villain. She is from another planet, a queen who wanted to save her planet. She came to Earth to find source of water to hopefully bring home to save her planet. Unfortunately nag-cross sila ng path ni Darna.”

The twist in Elektra’s character is this: She arrives in our planet to extract knowledge from an earthling as well as its persona to adapt to society and the environment. Having no knowledge of Earth, Elektra unfortunately took on the knowledge and character of a gay man!

This is why Regine is not worried her role as a villain would affect her image as a “much loved diva” in the country. As Elektra, she is bound to showcase her prowess in action and comedy.

So how did she prepare for her role? Apart from going through a strict diet to lose weight, Regine attributed her slimmer figure to her new-found sport… boxing!

“I think my training for the role is from boxing. I’m not the type who enjoys going to the gym or exercising. But when I started boxing with Ogie, I loved it. So kahit papaano I know I have form doing my action scenes,” she pointed-out. “When it comes to harness I’ve always been doing that before so I’m used to that already. If ever may gusto akong gawing stunts, mas confident ako kasi nga meron akong stance and form because of boxing!”

As for Marian Rivera who plays the Darna, having Regine Velasquez as Elektra only elevated the level of excitement and fun of watching “Darna.”

“I was very happy to learn before that Regine was playing Elektra. I didn’t expect her to accept a ‘kontrabida’ role. I’m very thankful na siya si Elektra… nagpapasalamat ako sa lahat ng kontrabida kasi sila ang lalong nagpapa-excite sa Darna,” commented Marian in an interview.

Aside from playing Elektra, Regine is busy with “S.O.P.” her upcoming soap opera “Diva” and shows here and abroad. She will also come out with a much-awaited album this year.

“I’m doing an album now. It’s exciting. I’ve been doing cover songs. I mean I’m a fan of OPM songs, it’s just that nowadays people want to hear familiar songs. Siyempre ibibigay ko kung ano ang hinihingi ng audience. This time around I’m doing both in one package. In one album, I’m doing a cover album and an all original album. It’s two CDs for the price of one. There are 10 covers and 10 original songs. It’s exciting because I have songs written by Isabela Ledesma and Robin Nieverra and some other songs from Parokya Ni Edgar and of course Ogie Alcasid,” she described.