Asia’s Multimedia Star and Box Office King Alden Richards has spent more than a decade dazzling audiences with his acting range and box-office clout. But this October, he added another title to his name: director.

His debut film, "Out of Order", a drama-thriller co-produced by his company, Myriad Entertainment, and Viva Films, premiered on Netflix today, Oct. 2, after making waves at the Da Nang Asian Film Festival.

The film pairs Alden with Heaven Peralejo, Nonie Buencamino, Soliman Cruz, Andrea del Rosario, Joyce Ching, Nicco Manalo, Francine Garcia, and Yayo Aguila.

"Out Of Order" depicts the fragile state of justice in the country. It tells the story of a young and broke attorney who is forced to defend his estranged father, a prominent lawyer accused of a brutal murder of a transgender. The case draws him into a tangle of betrayal, broken dreams, and systemic corruption. As he battles inside the courtroom, he also wrestles with personal ghosts - encountering an ex-girlfriend (played by Heaven), now a determined public prosecutor, whose presence tests his convictions as much as the trial itself.

The ensemble cast, Richards emphasized, was crucial in bringing the story to life. "Walang hindi pwedeng wala dun," he said. (No role could be omitted; every character mattered.)

For Alden, the shift towards being a filmmaker was both daunting and liberating. He admitted that the first cut of the film ran three and a half hours.

"But because of Netflix standards, we had to trim down the sequence quite a bit,’" he explained.

When asked if directing offered him the same sense of fulfillment as acting and producing, Alden reflected deeply. "The fulfillment from this is I would just like to let the industry know na ito po yung nagawa ng industriya sa akin as an individual. Sana rin po with all the young generation starting now, sana ganun niyo rin itrato yung trabaho niyo dito sa industriya natin. Ito po yung way ko to give back to the industry. (The fulfillment is my way of showing the industry what it has made of me as an individual. I hope that the younger generation will treat their work with the same level of respect. This is my way of giving back.)"

Alden insisted that his career has been driven not by resting on past success but by a relentless appetite to keep learning. "Hindi po ako tumigil matuto. (I never stopped learning.)

He described how friends often ask him if, after all his achievements, he could finally slow down. "Pero for me, that’s the death of learning. That’s the death of progress. And that’s the death of your journey. I’m always hungry for experiences, feelings, and emotions. That’s why I keep moving forward."

Alden is marking his 15th year in the entertainment industry, and his foray into directing feels like a natural evolution. ‘Hindi ako mapapagod to give more and to give back to the industry with how I live my life as an actor. (I never get tired of giving back through my work)," he added.

For the matinee idol, the experience of directing "Out of Order" came with its own set of challenges. He juggled being an actor, producer, and director simultaneously.

"It’s very taxing. It’s very demanding to be of three hats in one project. But masaya siyang gawin kasi napu-push ko yung sarili ko sa limits. (It’s fulfilling because it pushed me to my limits)," he added.

Would he want to be known now as “Direk Alden”? He laughed at the idea but admitted he’s open to exploring all possible roles in filmmaking. "Pwede director lang. Gusto ko rin naman matry ’yon. Now, I've tried the three: producer, actor, director. Pero gusto ko rin ma-experience maging director lang. Kasi masaya na paglaruan yung opportunities. (I’d also like to try being just a director. I’ve worked as a producer, actor, and director on the same project. I want to try different combinations, to explore opportunities.)

Beyond the craft, Alden believes "Out of Order" speaks directly to the times. ‘The battle for justice is everyday. Injustice is very dominant in our society, hindi lang sa Pilipinas,’ he said. "Unfair treatments, people in power abusing their position… niloloko tayo. People in power are fooling us."

His sharpest line resonates as a thesis statement for the film: "Justice is not blind, it’s being blinded. Binubulag ang hustisya para sa mga tao. (Justice is being obscured from the people)"

This sentiment is what gives "Out of Order" a weight beyond entertainment. It's a reminder, Alden says, to "keep on fighting for the truth every day of our lives."

Even before "Out of Order" made its Netflix debut, Alden confirmed that another directorial project with Viva and Myriad is already on the horizon. And though he won’t reveal details yet, he made sure to leave the door open for more stories in the "Out of Order universe" - either as a sequel or even a series.

For Alden, the journey has always been about what comes next. His debut as director may be just that: the start of a new chapter in a career defined by growth, reinvention, and an unshakable hunger to tell stories that matter.