MANILA – ABS-CBN’s film outfit confirmed that the much-anticipated movie reunion of John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo is still pushing through and is one of the biggest projects of the network in 2021.

In a virtual conference on Wednesday, ABS-CBN Films managing director Olivia Lamasan said the project is currently under creative development, but “we are set to grind first quarter of this year.”

“Right now, tuloy pa rin ang creative development under Carmi Raymundo. This time, it’s a collaboration with John Lloyd himself and Bea. That is what’s happening. Tuloy iyan,” she said.

Back in October, Lamasan said the film reuniting the iconic tandem was supposed to have been shot in Florence, Italy and released last year.

“Unfortunately, pandemic came, kailangan kumambyo,” Lamasan said. “We tried adjusting the material dito sa Pilipinas. Unfortunately, hindi kinaya.”

The next option was to “change the concept” altogether, according to Lamasan. However, that meant delays in script development.

During the Wednesday interview, Lamasan proudly shared that while the film is still in the development stage, Cruz and Alonzo have been actively involved in the project as co-collaborators.

“The many experiences plus talagang 'yung innate intelligence naman ni Lloydie, parang ngayon umusbong ang kanyang creativity. So with everything that he’s been doing, he has truly matured as a person and as a creative person,” she said.

“It’s exciting that he, together with Bea who has gone through the same journey, collaborate in the project that they are going to do. It’s something that excites us. It’s something that excites the writer Carmi Raymundo, and the director Cathy Garcia Molina,” she added.

Expressing confidence on the project, the film executive said: “Ako hinihintay ko na lang mabasa dahil excited na excited ako sa project na iyan. Tandaan niyo, ang John Lloyd and Bea ay nagsimula sa akin sa ‘Kay Tagal Kitang Hinantay,’ their very first soap.”

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