Hear me out: Jericho Rosales as former President Manuel L. Quezon! Echo is officially our dude on the 20-peso bill! And joining him are the iconic face cards of the P50 and P100 bills: Romnick Sarmenta as Sergio Osmeña and JC Santos as Manuel Roxas.
Karylle Yuzon will be playing presidential wifey, Aurora Quezon and returning from previous Bayaniverse films will be Mon Confiado as former President Emilio Aguinaldo and Benjamin Alves as younger Quezon. And for the Joven fans, don’t worry because this fictional character will be back and he will now be portrayed by Cris Villanueva.
Looks like the Bayaniverse “Hear Me Out” cake will be crowded since there is a lot of simping potential in this film. ICYDK: The “Hear Me Out” cake meme involves putting a photo of your unconventional crush on a stick and placing it on top of the cake.
For more details on this casting announcement, check out the official press release below:
“TBA Studios, officially announced on February 18 that actor Jericho Rosales will play the title role of Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon in the biographical historical movie ‘Quezon.’
Rosales will lead the cast of the much-anticipated biopic, which is expected to follow the life of Quezon, a Filipino lawyer, and soldier who became the President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944. ‘Quezon’ will serve as Rosales’ long-awaited return to Philippine cinema after a years-long hiatus; he was last seen on the big screen via the 2018 romantic drama ‘The Girl in the Orange Dress.’ On television, he recently starred in the hit ABS-CBN drama “Lavender Fields.”
‘I feel so honored to be with this team. Coming to a script like this which is so potent and so entertaining, I feel so lucky and happy.’ Rosales said. ‘Here, you will see Quezon as a person. He’s not written as a hero. He is cunning, he is charming, he is intelligent. Quezon is such an interesting character to play; there are so many things I can put into the role to build Quezon as a character. That adds to the pressure, but at the same time I am very excited.’
TBA Studios President and COO Daphne Chiu said of the casting: ‘We are honored to welcome Jericho Rosales as he leads the cast of ‘Quezon.’ Jericho’s unbelievable screen presence has made him one of our best actors today, and we’re all looking forward to working with him and seeing how his artistry can give life to one of the country’s most charismatic yet divisive political figures.’
Meanwhile, ‘Quezon’ director and co-writer Jerrold Tarog said Rosales was cast for the power he is known to deliver on screen—the same power the actor showcased when he auditioned for the role of Gen. Antonio Luna in the 2015 historical biopic ‘Heneral Luna.’
Also starring in ‘Quezon’ are Mon Confiado and Benjamin Alves, who reprise their roles from earlier films ‘Heneral Luna’ and ‘Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral.’ Confiado returns as Emilio Aguinaldo and Quezon’s political rival. Meanwhile, Alves portrays a younger Manuel L. Quezon.
Joining Rosales, Confiado, and Alves are Karylle Yuzon as Quezon’s wife, Aurora Quezon; Romnick Sarmenta as Sergio Osmeña, the first Vice President of the Philippines; JC Santos as Manuel Roxas; and Cris Villanueva as the older Joven Hernando, the only fictional character in the film series.
Chiu hinted that more exciting ‘Quezon’ casting announcements are coming soon.
‘Quezon’—part of TBA Studios’ cinematic “Bayaniverse,” a series of films based on Philippine history that includes box office hits ‘Heneral Luna’ and ‘Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral’—will be released in cinemas both locally and worldwide later this year.”
Personally, I’m hoping that TBA Studios and Cinema 76 give us a venue to dress up in historical clothing because, again, I will be whipping out my Goyo outfit I wore while hosting the Cinema ’76 Café Quiz Night!
You can view the Cinema ’76 Café Quiz Night album on my Kraken Mae Facebook page HERE!
READ MORE Quezon-related news here: Bayaniverse is back! Quezon starts filming
