For the first time, Rabin Angeles and Angela Muji are taking their trending love team to the big screen as they headline the Philippine adaptation of the Korean hit A Werewolf Boy.
The project marks a career milestone for the pair, better known as RabGel, who broke out earlier this year through the Viva One series Seducing Drake Palma. The show, based on a Wattpad novel with over 133 million reads, became one of the platform’s top titles and helped cement Rabin and Angela as one of 2025’s most-followed young love teams.
While the story of Drake and Alys continues in the upcoming Dating Alys Perez, the two admit their focus is now on proving themselves as lead actors on film.
For Rabin, the role is both thrilling and nerve-wracking. He shared that he studied films and various series to prepare, being extra cautious not to copy original lead Song Joong-ki’s portrayal of the character.
“We need to bring something new—we can’t just copy,” he said.
Part of his preparation also included spending hours in prosthetics to bring the wolf-like character to life. “It was exhausting, but I had to give everything to portray it properly,” he added.
Angela said she approached her role with the same determination, noting that she wanted her character to stand apart from her earlier portrayal in Seducing Drake Palma.
“Our characters have to be distinct. They can’t be interchangeable; otherwise, the portrayal won’t be effective,” she explained.
For her, the challenge is to balance vulnerability with strength as she plays a young woman caring for someone who behaves like a wild creature.
Director Crisanto Aquino, who also helmed Seducing Drake Palma, leads the adaptation. Both actors credited him for pushing them beyond the romantic-comedy image that endeared them to fans.
“It’s not only about the romance anymore. This is real character work for us,” Rabin said.
Angela added that they wanted to stay true to the story while giving it a Filipino touch.
“We want the characters to feel authentic to our culture so that audiences here can connect to them in a deeper way,” she said.
The film, produced by Viva Films and Studio Viva, reimagines the Korean favorite with a local setting. It follows a provincial girl who meets a feral young man who cannot speak. As she teaches him how to live normally, their unlikely connection grows into a tender but difficult romance.
With filming underway, the two admitted they still feel nervous about carrying a major project but are eager to show growth.
“We’re not the best actors yet, but we’ll do everything we can to show that we’re ready to take the risk,” Rabin said.
