Justa little a while ago last year, Netflix announced that it hadofficially selected a Latina to keep the legacy of Tejano music legend, Selena Quintanilla, alive. For its highly anticipated show “Selena: The Series,” the big-time streaming platform has tapped Christian Serratos, AKA Rosita Espinosa of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” series.

In a recent interview with People magazine, Serratos revealed that she was anxious about stepping into her role as Selena.

“I’ve been listening to her since I was way below single digits,” Serratos told People in the recent interview. “’Baila Esta Kumbia’ (the second single released on Quintanilla’s 1990 ‘Ven Conmigo’ album), that was my song as a baby. Then it became my karaoke song as a teenager. I’ve always looked up to and really admired her, but I never thought I would have the opportunity to play her.

“It was really intimidating to audition and to play her, but I felt prepared in life to accomplish what I think we did on this show,” Serratos explained. “I gave it everything I could.”

Twenty-four years after her tragic death Selena is, once again, being brought back to life on the screen.

Little information has been released by Netflix about the series, but Serratos casting will undoubtedly launch quite a bit of chatter.

The series, which was created with the participation of the Quintanilla family and announced by Netflix last December, has already garnered quite a bit of anticipation online. Back in 1997, the casting process for the singer had the Latino community astir for months until it was finally revealed that then-dancer, singer and actress Jennifer Lopez (still known as a triple threat for her moves, voice and acting chops) had earned the role. The Boricua’s casting caused quite the controversy primarily because she was not Mexican. This time around, Netflix kept the controversy in mind while conducting casting. In a recent interview with NBC News, Moisés Zamora– who is the head writer and one of the executive producers for the show– explained how crucial it was for him to ensure Mexican- identity was strongly included in the show.

“I associated her with my family and being Mexican in America,” he told the outlet at the time while highlighting how the younger singer was shaped by her identity of being a woman of Mexican heritage who also grew up in Corpus Christi while speaking English.

For the latest portrayal of Selena, the executive producer was involved in the casting of Serratos, a Latina of both Mexican and Italian descent.

Serratos knows all about breathing life into deceased characters.

For four seasons she has raged against the undead in “The Walk Dead” and in her earlier career played Angela Webber, friend to Bella Swan lover of vampires, in Twilight.

According to outlets, it’s unclear how the series will tackle Quintanilla’s vocals.

Back when Lopez took her turn as the singer, she was made to lip-sync to Quintanilla’s vocals. We’re pretty sure that if Netflix doesn’t decide to do the same, they’ll be in good hands because Serratos voice is banging. She even sings “Baila Esta Cumbia” in this compilation!

So far fans of Selena are on board with the news.

Hell yes!!!!!!

— Gonzalo Quintana (@gonzaloquin3) August 20, 2019

While buzz online hasn’t quite ramped up, we’re pretty sure once news of the casting catches on Latina Twitter will be doing the washing machine for days.

And it appears Serratos has the Selena Fan Club seal of approval.

https://twitter.com/foxymnj/status/1163907305110458368

And it’s no wonder why! Serratos cuts a pretty uncanny resemblance to the Tejano beauty.

Of course, while most of the reactions to Serratos casting have been positive the TWD club is a bit worried.

BREAKING: Christian Serratos, who plays Rosita on THE WALKING DEAD, is in talks to play SELENA in a scripted series for Netflix. Production is slated to start within the month, though there are scheduling issues with her AMC series, so there's a possibility she may be killed off.

— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) August 20, 2019

Okay TBH it feels like a worthy sacrifice.

Like literally people are bummed.

Noooo! 😱😢

— Lisa Demeter (@demeter_lisa) August 20, 2019

Pero… like I said! Serratos as Selena will totally be worth it.

(Jeeze… wonder if she’ll die by zombie attack?)

But there is a silver lining to the upset.

Do the washing machine, everybody!

Breaking casting news: Netflix has found its SELENA.

The Walking Dead's Christian Serratos will play the Queen of Tejano music in the upcoming Selena: The Series.https://t.co/EV6N5opxH7 pic.twitter.com/4M4R13ZUhV

— Maria Elena Fernandez (@writerchica) August 20, 2019

If fans of “The Walking Dead” are this bummed over possibly losing Serratos, that means she must be pretty damn good at taking on great roles. So here’s to Serratos and her new role! Hopefully, for TWD fans she’ll be able to juggle both… if not bidi bidi bom bom.

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Moctesuma Esparza is suing Netflix, Abraham and Suzette Quintanilla over “Selena: The Series.” Esparza is seeking damages of $1 million for an alleged breach of contract. The lawsuit comes one month before the series is set to debut on Netflix.

“Selena: The Series” is almost here and there’s a new lawsuit about the project.

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5 weeks. Who will you be watching with? / 5 semanas. ¿Con quién planeas verla? #selenanetflix

A post shared by Selena: The Series (@selenanetflix) on Oct 30, 2020 at 7:50pm PDT

“Selena” producer Moctesuma Esparza is suing Netflix along with Abraham and Suzette Quintanilla over the new limited series. The lawsuit claims that Selena’s father and sister broke an agreement they entered into that gave him the rights to the late-Tejano singer’s life, according to TMZ.

Esparza claims that the deal made for the rights included more than just the 1997 biopic.

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#muñequitodetrapo

A post shared by Selena: The Series (@selenanetflix) on Oct 30, 2020 at 10:51am PDT

According to TMZ, Esparza claims that the agreement made included any remakes of the story. Esparza also claims that he has the rights to the story of every character. The documents allege that Esparza met with Suzette and Abraham to discuss a project he created for “Young Selena.”

The conversation over Selena’s life rights began in 1995.

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Admiring this beauty today. 💜

A post shared by Selena (@selenaqofficial) on Oct 30, 2020 at 12:35pm PDT

According to an article in the LATimes from 1995, the family and Esparza entered into an informal agreement. According to the article, instead of formal contracts about the rights to Selena’s story, Esparza gave the Quintanilla family final say on the script. In return, Esparza was able to completely handle the production side.

The article states that Esparza was not after the rights to Selena’s story at the time. However, Esparza is alleging that that changed in 1998 when he and the Quintanilla family formalized a deal over Selena’s rights.

Netflix’s “Selena: The Series” will be streaming on Dec. 4.

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December 04 @Netflix 4 de diciembre @NetflixLat

A post shared by Selena: The Series (@selenanetflix) on Oct 6, 2020 at 2:49pm PDT

It isn’t clear what this lawsuit would mean for the series. The Quintanilla family is known for keeping a strong protector of Selena, her story, and her image.

The show is giving younger Selena fans a chance to get to know the younger Selena. This are the years leading up to the wild popularity in the Latino community and her English-language cross-over. It’s been decades since we got the first in-depth look into Selena’s life and fans cannot wait to finally have an in-depth look at a different moment in the iconic singer’s life.

READ: “Selena: The Series” Trailer Is Here And The ’80s Hairstyles Are Everything

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