A post shared by Shaina Magdayao (@shaina_magdayao) on May 21, 2017 at 9:13am PDT

MANILA – Shaina Magdayao has reacted to reports that she replaced Angelica Panganiban in the upcoming series “Asintado.”

In an interview with ABS-CBN News, Magdayao said the role given to her is totally different from the one Panganiban was supposed to portray.

“When they presented it to me, I asked them, ‘Ito ba yung role?’ Because I just wanted it to be clear also. Pero sabi nila hindi because from iyong original story, nag-iba na raw talaga. Nagkaroon ng major changes story-wise. Hindi daw ang character na iyon. Although technically, pareho ang theme. Meron pa ring action, meron pa ring family at love interest,” she said.

Magdayao said one of the major factors why she was unable to say no to the project was its powerhouse cast.

“Parang every taping day, if only I could just watch because we are working with tita Lorna Tolentino, ate Pie (Picache), ate Agot (Isidro), and tito Nonie Buencamino. It’s my first time to work with Julia (Montes) also. Si Paulo (Avelino), I’ve worked with him already pero this is just totally different,” she said.

“It’s very far from the roles I usually portray. It’s going to be a challenging 2018 I guess,” she added.

Aside from “Asintado,” Magdayao is also excited for the sequel of her TV series, “Single Single,” which will now be turned into a movie.

“I thought after 'The Better Half,' dahil napakabigat ng material na ginawa namin, sabi ko magpapahinga muna ako. But siguro hindi pa meant na magpahinga ako,” she said. “It’s actually very overwhelming na tuloy-tuloy ang trabaho but I think busy is good. I am very thankful.”

Because of her hectic schedule ahead, Magdayao said her family won’t be leaving for the United States this Christmas.

“We’ll be staying here because last year, we went to the States. Ngayon, iyong sister ko and my pamangkins are the ones na lilipad naman sa Manila. Family lang,” she said.