EXCLUSIVE: Maria Gabriela de Faria on Playing ‘Superman’ Villain: ‘A Physically & Emotionally Challenging Journey’
Premios Platino
DC’s comeback with Superman is on the horizon. With the movie set to be released on July 11, 2025, there’s a lot of buzz about David Corenswet’s Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane, Milly Alcock’s Kara Zor-El, and Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor. But in my personal opinion, not enough people are talking about María Gabriela de Faría.
The Venezuelan actress is set to play Angela Spica aka The Engineer. Though plot details for the James Gunn directed film are under wraps, Deadline reported that de Faría’s role was set to be that of a villain. And in the comics, The Engineer replaced her blood with a nanite-enriched fluid that allows her to basically shape-shift and reshape her body to her needs. She was also a member of the antihero organization The Authority and the second Engineer.
Remezcla got a chance to catch up with de Faría at the 2025 Premios Platino Awards in Madrid, Spain. And while there we asked her about her upcoming role in Superman and the challenges she faced. While she couldn’t tell us a lot, she did reveal how challenging this role was for her. de Faría said, “This experience was super challenging physically, but it was also very challenging emotionally.”
“My character as The Engineer is a very physical character. And not only because of the image that the character has in the comic. But because of all the things I had to do on set,” de Faría said. In the comics, The Engineer can manipulate any technology, fly, and even change the capabilities of her lungs to survive in inhospitable climates.
All of that has made her a capable fighter. de Faría added, “There is a lot of fighting and flying there. There are many things that required a lot of strength that I did not have when I started doing this. So it was a very long process that has left me with a gift, a love for movement, let’s say.”
de Faría isn’t the only Latina on Superman either. Isabela Merced, who is currently on The Last of Us season 2 as Dina, plays Hawkgirl in Superman. When asked about Merced, de Faría had an outpouring of love for the Peruvian actress. “I think she is one of the most beautiful, most honest, most down-to-Earth women.” And if there’s “anyone that represents Latinos in Hollywood, it’s Isabela Merced. And I’m very happy to work with her and we are very anxious to see Superman.”
