Summary
- The first teaser for Mediawan’s Zorro reboot introduces Miguel Bernardeau as the new masked hero, known as Don Diego de la Vega.
- Zorro originated in the early 20th century as stories in pulp magazines, and the character has been portrayed onscreen multiple times, notably by Guy Williams and Antonio Banderas.
- Zorro has become a popular pop culture figure, with multiple projects in development, including a scrapped series on The CW and an upcoming Disney TV project with Wilmer Valderrama as producer and lead actor.
The man in the mask is back in the first teaser for Mediawan’s Zorro, the latest adaptation of adventures of the famous character created by Johnston McCulley at the beginning of the 19th century. The origin of Zorro dates back to 1919, when McCulley published stories of the masked hero in pulp magazines of the time. The vigilante’s real name is Don Diego de la Vega, son of a powerful California landowner. While Diego appears to be a simple aristocrat unconcerned about social justice, his alter ego is a hero to his people, for which his head has a high price and is constantly persecuted.
The character has been brought to the screen several times, the most remembered productions being the Disney series that ran from 1957 to 1959 which starred Guy Williams, and the film adaptation starring Antonio Banderas. Now it will be the turn of Miguel Bernardeau to wear the mask and carry the sword of the famous vigilante.
The Spanish actor began his career in 2016 in the Spanish series Cuéntame Cómo Pasó, and in 2018 he had his big break starring in the Netflix teen hit Élite. Last year he was part of the cast of 1899, the most recent series from the creators of Dark, which also premiered on Netflix. So now he’s ready for his next great adventure.
On Thursday, Mediawan shared the first official teaser for the Zorro reboot, directed by Javier Quintas (Money Heist), Jose Luis Alegría (Toy Boy), and Jorge Saavedra (Mr Smith and Mrs Wesson):
The ten part series was written by Carlos Portela (Velvet Collection), and it also stars Renata Notni, Dalia Xiuhcoatl, Paco Tous, Emiliano Zurita and Joel Bosqued.
Wilmer Valderrama Will Soon Play Zorro Too
Zorro has become a popular character in pop culture, so it is not surprising that several projects related to the hero were in development at the same time. In addition to the series starring Bernardeau, NBC announced in 2019 that they were also creating a new Zorro adaptation. Eventually, the series moved to The CW, with Sofia Vergara and Robert Rodriguez as producers, but was ultimately scrapped by the network.
In 2021, Disney also confirmed a future television project together with ABC, with Wilmer Valderrama as producer and lead star, and Bryan Cogman (Game of Thrones) as showrunner. The show is described as a remake of the popular 1957 series, and will once again focus on the young aristocratic Diego de la Vega, who upon returning to his hometown discovers that corruption and injustice have taken over the place. Determined to change the situation, he will use Zorro’s mask and sword as his tools to fight against evil and injustice.
Valderrama had his big break by participating in That ’70s Show as Fez, a character he recently played again in That ’90s Show. Throughout his career he participated in several projects such as NCSI and Grey’s Anatomy, gaining a lot of popularity, making him a good option to become the next Diego de la Vega.
