Isabela Merced: Juggling Xenomorphs, Zombies, and Superheroes
Isabela Merced is right on the edge of Hollywood’s big leagues, and her schedule backs it up. Right now she’s busy shooting Alien: Romulus, set for release in August 2024. It’s not just another sci-fi flick—she’s taking on the legendary terror of xenomorphs, the ultimate movie monster. But if you ask her, those aliens aren’t the scariest thing she’s faced on screen. In a chat with Empire, Isabela admitted it’s actually the grotesque, massive Bloaters from The Last of Us that send more chills down her spine.
Merced’s approach is all about diving deep into her characters, and she brought that commitment straight to her role as Dina in the next season of The Last of Us. This isn’t just lip service. After nabbing the part, she sat down and played the entire video game, mapping out every emotional beat Dina might face. She’s keeping those storylines so close to her chest that even her family can’t pry out spoilers. That’s dedication—she’s making sure viewers get an authentic performance, not just a copy-paste from the script.
And she’s not stopping there. Isabela is prepping for a run as Hawkgirl in James Gunn’s upcoming Superman project. This role takes her in a totally new direction: superhero costumes, big action, and plenty of DC lore. When she first tried on Hawkgirl’s wings and suit, she couldn’t help but nerd out. Fans will definitely be watching closely as she makes this comic book heroine her own on the big screen.
Going Beyond the Blockbusters
Isabela’s not just clocking in on set. Behind the scenes, she keeps her creativity fueled with some surprising choices. Right now she’s immersed in Torera! Memoirs Of A Bullfighter, a book by Conchita Cintron, one of Peru’s most legendary bullfighters. She points out how the introduction by Orson Welles and Cintron’s own vivid storytelling unlock a whole piece of Lima’s history that even global audiences rarely see. That sense of curiosity bleeds into her acting—she always tries to connect with the personal stakes of her characters by understanding what makes them tick.
For Merced, every role is its own adventure. She gets nerdy about costumes in superhero movies, digs into survival horror for post-apocalyptic TV, and goes way out of her own comfort zone to fully inhabit her characters. She isn’t just a face on posters for giant franchises—she’s shaping up to be one of Hollywood’s real thinkers, mixing blockbusters with genuine research and finding stories that matter to her personally. The result: a star who might just stick around for all the right reasons.