MANILA — Nine months since the first details of “The General’s Daughter” came to light, Angel Locsin’s teleserye comeback is finally nearing its premiere — with a scale of production that is poised to “shock” viewers.

That’s according to screen veteran Albert Martinez, who portrays the titular “general” opposite Locsin as the “daughter.”

Martinez, 57, is among the cast members of the action-drama series, alongside fellow screen veterans Tirso Cruz III, Eula Valdez, Janice de Belen, and Maricel Soriano.

Referring to the Dreamscape production as one of the “flagship” programs of ABS-CBN in 2019, Martinez said it will “shock a lot of audience when they see the cast, the mounting of the drama, the mounting of the action, the mounting of the interaction between components [of the story].”

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“You can say it’s a huge project. There’s so much to see, there’s so much to expect,” he told ABS-CBN News. “Of course, you get high-caliber actors involved in the project. Talagang powerhouse. On top of all this is Angel Locsin.”

In production as early as April 2018, “The General’s Daughter” was officially unveiled in November during ABS-CBN’s “Family is Love” trade event. Its first trailer unraveled a story spanning two generations and three families, with Locsin’s character, Rhian, as the central figure.

Directed by Manny Palo and Mervyn Brondial, the series appears equally packed with drama and action, with scenes depicting Rhian — a soldier raised to kill her own father — in conflicts both physical and emotional.

“I’ve seen portions of it and I’m really so proud to be part of it,” Martinez said.

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When “The General’s Daughter” premieres in the first quarter of 2019, Martinez will be seen in two concurrently airing ABS-CBN Programs, the other being the hit afternoon drama “Kadenang Ginto.”

“To be honest, when I turned 50, I told myself, ‘This will be the last stretch of my career.’ Because realistically, what role can you play at the age of 50 – father roles, lolo roles, and all that,” he said.

“It didn’t cross my mind, the possibility of still being a leading man with the likes of Bea Alonzo and now Beauty Gonzalez,” he pointed out, referring to his respective onscreen partners in “Sana Bukas Pa Ang Kahapon” (2014) and “Kadenang Ginto.”

Martinez, who hasn’t had a year since 2006 without a role in an ABS-CBN teleserye, said he is “very thankful and overwhelmed” over the recent strides in his already storied 40-year career.

“Sabi ko, ‘Hey, wait a minute, puwede pa pala!’”