Telenovelas News: Lucero Main Candidate For 'La Malquerida,' Carla Estrada Wants Adela Noriega Or Thalía For Next Project

Lucero had a rough beginning of the year after photos of her going hunting for wild animals with her millionaire boyfriend leaked to a publication in Mexico. The 44-year-old actress was forced to cancel public engagements which include a presentation at the Viña Del Mar Music Festival in Chile after the public reaction towards her turned out negative. Producer José Alberto Castro seems to want to use the publicity to his favor and wants to cast her in the leading role for "La Malquerida." Many actresses have been linked to this telenovela like Victoria Ruffo, Silvia Navarro and Cecilia Suarez, but a final decision has not been made. The reason for the delay in announcing the lead actress is due to Castro trying to work out a deal with Lucero, LatinTimes has learned. Production of the soap is set to begin in the coming weeks with a target premiere of May.

Carla Estrada, the acclaimed producer of such telenovelas as "Amor Real," "Lazos De Amor" and "El Privilegio De Amar" wants to return to the beloved genre. Estrada, who currently helms the morning show "Hoy," has not made a novela since 2009's "Sortilegio" that starred Jacqueline Bracamontes and William Levy. Rumor had it that the producer wanted Bracamontes to be the star of her next project, but a new report from Radio Fórmula says that she wants Adela Noriega, Thalía or Silvia Navarro to be the female lead. Noriega has worked with Estrada before on telenovelas like "Quinceañera," "María Isabel" and "El Manantial" and has been absent from the scene since concluding production of "Fuego En La Sangre" in 2007. Adela's return to television would be a major draw to audiences.

Thalía has been away from the small screen since "Rosalinda" in 1999 and only once worked with Carla in "Quinceañera" when she was a teenager. Speculation of Thalia's return to melodramas has been abundant since she left Televisa and with a global fanbase any telenovela with her name attached will generate huge sales for the Mexican network. Estrada knows that if she comes back to produce a novela she wants to make sure it is a big hit. Silvia Navarro has never worked with Carla, but was offered the leading role of "Pasión," back in 2007, but a dispute with her former employer (Azteca) did not allow her to accept the offer. Her name was again attached to the producer in 2011 for an adaptation of the Kathryin S. Blair book based on the life of Antonieta Rivas Mercado. The project ultimately fell through and it was not produced. Which of the three actresses would you like Carla Estrada to work with on her next novela?