It’s been sixteen years since we last saw Zorro in live-action, when Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones reunited for a disappointing swashbuckling season, but the iconic outlaw appears to be back in fashion in a major way.
A reboot of the character had been stuck in development hell for the better part of a decade, but we now have no less than three separate Zorro projects in the works across film and television. Robert Rodriguez was announced to be developing a female-led TV series for NBC earlier this year, while it was confirmed two weeks ago that Alex Rivera is writing and directing the cyberpunk-influenced Zorro 2.0, both of which are a modern-day retelling.
Wilmer Valderrama is the latest to throw his wide-brimmed hat into the ring after it was announced by Variety that the actor is headlining another episodic spin on Zorro for Disney Branded Television, which will be a period piece inspired by the 1950s show starring Guy Williams.
Described as being akin to a modern telenovela, Valderrama will play Don Diego de la Vega in the days of Spanish California, which at least differentiates it from the other two. Not many people would have pegged 2021 as being the year that Zorro returned with a vengeance, but we’ll be interested to see which one gets to our screens first.