“Every Scene I’m Flying:” Superman’s Isabela Merced Addresses Suiting Up As Hawk Girl & Performing Stunts

Recently, Isabela Merced opened up about taking on the role of Hawkgirl in James Gunn’s Superman. The actress will be the first to portray the DC superhero in a live-action film, though variations of the character have made previous live-action appearances on Smallville, Legends of Tomorrow, and Stargirl. Aside from Merced, Superman stars David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Holt, Nathan Fillion, and Edi Gathegi.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, the actress revealed that wearing the Hawkgirl costume wasn’t exactly comfortable. Merced, who previously played a superhero in Madame Web, explained: “I got a taste of the supersuit, which was not fun. The tightness and the way you had to make everything look cool, but also aggressive, but also smooth, but also in a tight suit, but also you’re wearing a harness…It’s a lot.“

However, despite the discomfort Merced experienced, she felt it was a bonding experience with her castmates because they “all were going through it together.” The actress stated that “we’d use fans on each other to make sure we weren’t hot on the summer days where we’d be in harnesses in the middle of in Cleveland.“

Because her character’s primary power is flight, Merced had to wear a harness for most of the filming, but she didn’t exactly mind. She further explained: “Every scene I’m flying, pretty much, but it’s cool because I’m an adrenaline seeker. I like being dropped from really high heights. It’s actually one of my favorite things.“

Superman’s Hawkgirl Teases An Action-Packed Film

Merced’s comments regarding her experience filming Superman shed some light on the nature of her scenes in the film. Despite there now having been multiple trailers, Hawkgirl has only been seen flying into battle. The details of how she enters the story are as-of-yet unknown, but given what Merced has said, Hawkgirl could mostly factor into the film’s fight sequences. Notably, Gunn took a largely practical approach to creating flying effects by using drone technology for Superman, and Merced’s mention of the harnesses implies the same is true for Hawkgirl.

Isabela Merced Takes Flight As Hawkgirl When Superman Releases In July

While it is unfortunate that the costumes and harnesses Merced had to wear for Superman were uncomfortable, there is something wholesome about the cast all working together to stay cool. Moreover, the actress spoke positively of performing her flying stunts, so the experience was somewhat fun.

Gunn’s choice to film flight (and possibly in-flight battle) scenes with a combination of practical and computer-generated effects is a refreshing approach, given how common it is to solely rely on visual effects in modern superhero films. Whether or not this pays off for Superman remains to be seen, but at least Merced had some fun learning to fly.

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Source: Comic Book Resources