“The Story Is Actually Really Dark:” Superman Actress Isabela Merced Addresses Hawkgirl’s “F*cked Up” DCU Backstory

Superman actress Isabela Merced recently opened up about how her character, Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl, channels her comic backstory in the upcoming DC Universe film. Along with Merced, it also stars David Corenset, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Anthony Carrigan, Edi Gathegi, Nathan Fillion, Sara Sampaio, Neva Howell, and Pruitt Taylor Vince. DIrected by James Gunn, the movie, which marks the character’s first major big-screen appearance, features Hawkgirl as part of the Justice Gang, a group of corporate-sponsored heroes that don’t exactly share Superman’s morals.

Hawkgirl has had several incarnations throughout comics, being a alien in some, reincarnated in others, and even a reincarnated alien in more recent runs. Moreover, three different heroes have been Hawkgirl, Shiera Sanders Hall, Shayera Hol, and Kendra Saunders, the latter of whom Merced is playing. In an appearance on the DC Studios Showcase Official Podcast, Merced addressed how Kendra’s history affected her portrayal in Superman:

“Kendra is reincarnated, but she’s reincarnated from an alien. So, she has all those memories. The story is actually really dark, it’s actually so f*cked up that I wonder how they’re going to handle that when it comes to addressing that. I think she carries all of the memories and the traumas and the mistakes of her past lives in her body wherever she goes, so she has a little bit of a grumpy demeanor.”

Aside from playing a superhero, Merced revealed why being cast in Superman was a major deal for her: “One of my dreams in my career was to work with James Gunn. I told James the day I met[…]I was a huge fan.” She later quipped that she would have accepted any role to be in Gunn’s film, adding: “If he wanted me to be a citizen in Metropolis, I would have done that too.“

Kendra Saunders’ Complicated Past Makes Her A More Jaded Hero

Hawkgirl is such a lore-dense character with varying portrayals that creating her own spin on the hero would be a huge task for Merced. Based on her statements, it seems like Gunn went for an all-of-the-above approach and incorporated both the reincarnation cycle and Hawkgirl’s Thanagarian roots.

As for Merced, she doesn’t mind having the extra material to work with for her performance. The actress explained: “I love it. Honestly, it gives me so much backstory and it’s super helpful. But then, also, with the James Gunn twist, you know, that self-awareness and the comedy of it all. […] It gives me [the] opportunity to sort of… make light of my trauma.“

Kendra Saunders’ Backstory Makes Her Compelling

Since Hawkgirl was announced as part of Superman, details on which iteration Merced was playing were scarce, with the biggest indicator being a post from Gunn about Kendra’s comic debut. Given this is the more modern and well-known version of the character, her inclusion makes the most sense.

As for how her tragic backstory impacts the character, Merced’s perspective on mining Kendra’s trauma both for laughs and for her character’s outlook shows that the actress values the comic source material. Regardless, Hawkgirl’s DCU debut in Superman is bound to be memorable, possibly springboarding further appearances for the character in years to come.

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