EXCLUSIVE: María Gabriela de Faría on the Decision to Make 'Superman''s Conflicted Villain A Latina

In María Gabriela de Faría's first moments on-screen in 2025's superhero blockbuster, 'Superman,' she is communicating with her evil boss, Lex Luthor, as she tries to locate the Man of Steel's Fortress of Solitude. She finds it descending into the ice as Superman departs the Fortress and swears to herself in Spanish: "Mierda. Este hijo de p..."

In an interview with The Latin Times on the red carpet of a special screening of the movie in Miami, a warm and glowing De Faría said that the decision to make her character, The Engineer, Latina came entirely from the film's writer/director, James Gunn. She also implied that we could see her reprising her role in the future.

"I would love to say that I'm that creative, but no, it was already in the script. I think [Gunn] always thought of her [as Latina], and I think it's great that the director already had that in mind."

It was a great choice for the proud Venezuelan, who did a Q&A after the movie screening, where she was received with a standing ovation and loud cheers. "We are so proud of her," exclaimed urban star Danny Ocean, one of the many Latino celebrities in the house, told us.

However, that isn't to say that De Faría didn't have her work cut out for her. As her social media followers know, she underwent a physical transformation to play The Engineer. On top of maintaining a vegan diet and going on regular hikes, the Venezuelan actress also began strength and weight training for the film, a decision she asserts helped her get into the mindset of the character.

"It was so hard, physically and emotionally. I had to change my whole life, but it paid off big time," she added. De Faría also shaved the sides of her hair for the character, which took "all of my commitment."

Angela Spica/The Engineer is a former special operations agent who is recruited by Lex Luthor to take down Superman. Her bloodstream contains "nanites," tiny nanoparticles that allow her to transform into liquid metal and then shape herself into specific objects. In the comics, her body is almost entirely made of metal and appears highly defined—something De Faría replicated with her physique.

De Faría told The Latin Times that, "I think going to the gym and overcoming the difficulties that came with it helped me construct The Engineer's mindset, because she has also been through a lot of pain. Her transformation into The Engineer was very difficult."

Gunn, who also serves as co-CEO of DC Studios, along with producer Peter Safran, announced the upcoming lineup of projects in the new DC Universe (DCU) in its first "chapter," titled "Gods and Monsters," in early 2023. Along with the Supergirl movie and the HBO series, 'Lanterns,' Gunn announced a film called 'The Authority,' which surrounds a decidedly less morally upstanding superhero team than what most audiences are accustomed to. Those who know about The Authority know that The Engineer is a core member of the team.

There have been no substantial updates about 'The Authority' despite other projects like 'Supergirl' and 'Lanterns' moving into production, but De Faría revealed the plans are there, at least for her character.

When asked about the status of the project, de Faría stated that "I've talked to [Gunn] about this. I think it all depends on what happens with Superman. And [Gunn] has this amazing policy that all projects need to have a perfect script. And I think the reason that some of these projects that were announced haven't had any updates is because they don't have scripts that are as good as they can be."