Popverse's top stories

• Five Nights at Freddy's creator Scott Cawthon almost made Foxy an animatronic beaver. A previous flop made him change his mind
• MEMBERS ONLY: Marvel Studios is quietly learning, mistakes and all, how to replace their heroes with Fantastic Four: First Steps, Ironheart, Captain America 4, and Daredevil: Born Again [Marvel Matters]
• WATCH: How Marvel's Ironheart is related to Iron Man: The Riri Williams/Tony Stark connection, explained [Lore Corner]

Who says Superman can’t be a telenovela?

Maria Gabriela de Faria, who plays the Engineer in the DC Studios’ upcoming Superman film, thinks the difference between superhero films and telenovelas isn’t as big as people think. The Venezuelan actress has a background in telenovelas and brought some of that energy to her performance in Superman.

“I mean, it’s impossible not to,” de Faria says during an interview with the DC Studios Showcase Official Podcast. “I was raised by telenovelas. My parents were really young when they had me. My mom was 15 and my dad was 17, so they were working so much to make ends meet, so I was raised by telenovelas. And doing telenovelas. I mean, that’s all I did since I was five until I left Venezuela when I was 15. So yeah, I’m very telenovela-like.”

“It’s my jam, I love that stuff. So, kind of a bit of the drama,” de Faria continues. “I know that James [Gunn] wanted this character to be really serious, really like poker face, nothing ever happens to her. Oh, shit happens to her. She feels a lot and she’s really emotional, and I think that’s the telenovela in me.”

De Faria went on to explain how comic book superheroes share a lot of DNA with telenovelas.

“When you do telenovelas, you never know what’s happening next. They give you the episodes probably the day of. So, you’re always like, ‘Oh, motherfucker what is this.’ And with comic books, it’s kind of the same. The characters live many lives depending on the version.”

“I’ve seen the Engineer do crazy stuff in different versions of The Authority. So, it’s the same with telenovelas. For telenovelas, we do 35 or 40 scenes a day. It’s insane. So, it gives me the workhorse kind of thing, where I can totally do this a thousand times. I can learn my lines like this. It gives you a great work ethic on top of it all.”

De Faria was asked if she thought her character was a secret telenovela fan. Her answer didn’t disappoint. “Yes, I feel like she has this façade. She goes and she hides from Lex and she watches telenovelas.”

Superman flies into theaters on July 11. Keep your eyes open for the Engineer’s telenovela energy.

James Gunn's Superman is flying into theaters soon enough, and Popverse has all you need to prepare. Refreshing your cinematic memory with our Superman movie watch order, learn what we know about the upcoming Superman movie, Superman's S-Shield through the ages, and read about what DC is doing ahead of their flagship hero's triumphant return.