John Arcilla joins the cast of ‘Lolong’ Season 2

John Arcilla is a new addition to “Lolong" Season 2.

Now titled "Lolong: Bayani ng Bayan" the second season of the Ruru Madrid-starrer will feature the Venice International Film Festival Best Actor as the villain, Julio Figueroa.

Julio is a powerful businessman with an underground fighting arena. A ring leader of criminals, Julio remains power- and money-hungry. 

Julio assigns Ivan, played by fellow "Lolong" newbie Martin Del Rosario, to destroy Lolong, who is looking for a special crystal after his beloved Elsie (Shaira Diaz) experiences a tragedy.. 

John gave spoiler-free hints about his character during the series’ story conference and cast reveal on Friday, adding that he is looking forward to playing the kontrabida because he is very layered.

“’Yung complexity ng character ni Julio is believable but at the same time, logical,” the award-winning actor told GMA News Online. “’Yung values niya at ‘yung mga pwedeng sikreto niya at pinanggagalingan, or ‘yung center nung character, pinaka-backbone ng character is very, very pulido and malinaw kaya very interesting. I’m so excited to do it.”

Per John, he took on the role because Julio is a real person and not a caricature.

“Ako kasi usually kahit gumagawa ako ng kontrabida, hinahapan ko ‘yung part ng character na totoo at pwede mangyari sa isang tao,” John said. “Ayoko gumawa ng kontrabida na caricature, na parang cartoons na walang pinanggalingan.”

With this, John described Julio as somebody who does not believe he is a bad person, which is why he is able to do evil things.

“Jina-justify niya na, ‘tao ako eh. Natural lang na may gusto akong marating, may gusto akong mangyari, may gusto akong gawin,” the actor said.

“In fact, ‘yun ‘yung magandang value niya. At the same time, ‘yun din ‘yung complexity ng kanyang other side. So ‘yung kanyang strength is actually also his weakness, kaya napaka-interesting na gawin itong character.”

“Lolong: Bayani ng Bayan” takes place four years after the first season, with the titular character Lolong, now a masked hero helping maintain the peace in their small town. 

"Lolong: Bayani ng Bayan" will begin airing on GMA on January 20, 2025. Something awesome to look forward to in the new year!

— LA, GMA Integrated News