Isabela Merced has been on a fantastic run, with Alien: Romulus and The Last of Us season 2 helping wash away the bad taste left by Madame Web (a project that could quite easily derail many a young actor's career).
She'll get a second chance at playing a superhero in this summer's Superman, where Merced takes on the role of Kendra Saunders, a.k.a. Hawkgirl. However, following her brief Marvel experience, she knows better than to put the cart before the horse.
Talking to Entertainment Weekly, Merced weighed in on James Gunn's ambitious plans for the DCU. "This industry loves to make plans and not follow through," she acknowledged. "If it's an animated series...I love voiceover. It's so much fun and easy and quick and rewarding. Then my little cousins and my little nieces will get to watch it, and they love that stuff."
Proving she's not paying lip service, Merced told the site that she grew up watching Justice League Unlimited and shared her fandom of Hawkgirl voice actor Maria Canals-Barrera. In fact, they met at a convention. "She was so kind and a fan of mine. I was like, 'What the hell?!'" the actor recalled.
Having accidentally revealed the Superman logo in a social media post - an "innocent mistake" which Merced admits briefly landed her in hot water - she's reluctant to share too much about Hawkgirl's role in the DCU movie. However, it's a big step forward from Madame Web.
"I got a taste of the super suit [on Madame Web], which was not fun," she said. "The tightness and the way you had to make everything look cool, but also aggressive, but also smooth, but also in a tight suit, but also you're wearing a harness...It's a lot."
"We all were going through it together [on Superman]," Merced noted. "We'd use fans on each other to make sure we weren't hot on the summer days where we'd be in harnesses in the middle of in Cleveland. Every scene I'm flying, pretty much. But it's cool because I'm an adrenaline seeker. I like being dropped from really high heights. It's actually one of my favorite things."
Hawkgirl is an exciting role for Merced and a character she can likely play across multiple DCU projects (including a spin-off where she'd hopefully be joined by Hawkman). In Superman, she'll be joined by fellow Justice League heroes Green Lantern and Mister Terrific.
Superman, DC Studios' first feature film to hit the big screen, is set to soar into theaters worldwide this summer from Warner Bros. Pictures.
In his signature style, James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind.
The movie stars David Corenswet in the dual role of Superman/Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor.
Also appearing are Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio, María Gabriela de Faría, Wendell Pierce, Alan Tudyk, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Neva Howell, and Milly Alcock.
Superman arrives in theaters on July 11, 2025.