(Left) Director Robert Rodríguez on the set of 'We Can Be Heroes'. Photo: Ryan Green/Netflix © 2020. (Right) 'The Mask of Zorro' from 1998. Photo: TriStar Images.
Advance:
- Robert Rodríguez's 'Zorro' project has found a home on CBS.
- It will be a gender-swapped version of the sword-wielding hero.
- 'The Man Who Fell to Earth's John Hlavin is co-writing the pilot.
Roberto Rodriguez I won't leave itFox' go.
The filmmaker behind films like 'The Mariachi,' 'Machete,' 'sin city,' 'spy children' and 'From dusk till dawn' (to name just a few) has been trying to create a gender-swapped version of the sword-wielding character for the past few years.
Rodríguez's story goes back to when he almost directed 'The mask of Zorro' in 1998, but has been attached to a television shot since it was announced in December 2021.
“No one has seen his face… but everyone… knows this mark.”
66
2 hours 16 minutesJuly 16, 1998
At that time it was set up with NBC, with a script by Alfredo Barrios Jr. and Rebecca Rodriguez (Robert's sister) and counting on Sofía Vergara and her LatinWe as part of her creative team.
It then moved to CW in 2022, with Vergara dropping out and'mayas mcSean Tretta of . now he's on board to co-write with Rebecca.
With the CW largely exiting the scripted series business, the show, which was always backed by CBS Studios, now has a home on the CBS network.
What is the history of this version of 'Zorro'?
Catherine Zeta-Jones in 'The Mask of Zorro'. Photo: TriStar Images.
According to deadlineThe show will follow a young Latina who discovers that her long-dead father was the legendary hero Zorro.
She takes on her masked persona to defend the desperate citizens of her Austin, Texas community from wealthy forces seeking to exploit them.
Related article: All Robert Rodríguez films, classified
Who else is working on the new 'Zorro' series?
(From left to right) Pedro Pascal and director Robert Rodríguez on the set of 'We Can Be Heroes'. Photo: Ryan Green/Netflix © 2020.
The latest member of the behind-the-scenes team is John Hlavin, who created the film adaptation 'The man who fell to earth' for Showtime. He and Rebecca Rodriguez will be writing a new original script to launch the show, and we're sure everyone involved is crossing their fingers. This time it will happen.
What other 'Zorro' projects exist?
Antonio Banderas in 'The Mask of Zorro'. Photo: TriStar Images.
Rodríguez's interpretation of the character is far from the only 'Zorro' in development or that has already hit the screens.
French series 'Fox,' starring Jean Dujardin as the masked swordsman, released in Supreme+ earlier this month. Before that, main video'Zorro' debuted in January with Miguel Ángel Bernardeau Duato leading the Spanish cast.
AND Wilmer Valderrama has been developing his own series about Zorro in Disney+ from 2021 with 'game of Thrones'veteran Bryan Cogman jumping on board last spring.
Valderrama is an executive producer and aspires to star in the Disney Branded Television project, which is in active development.
It follows the privileged gentleman Diego De La Vega, who returns to his hometown of El Pueblo de Los Ángeles after a family tragedy. There, he discovers a culture of corruption and injustice that will lead him to take on the role of masked vigilante Zorro, America's first true superhero.
Antonio Banderas in 'The Mask of Zorro'. Photo: TriStar Images.