For the first time in 60 years, Disney is producing a new Zorro series. Via Entertainment Weekly, Wilmer Valderrama will executive produce the Disney+ Zorro series, and also star in the show as Don Diego de la Vega/Zorro. And unlike recent attempts to revive the character, Zorro will be set in his original time period and setting: 19th century California under Mexican rule.
“Growing up, Zorro was the one character that made me, as a Latino, feel like I could be a hero,” said Valderrama in a statement. “As an adult and a storyteller, I have a responsibility in the stories that I help bring to life. To partner with Gary [Marsh, executive producer] and Disney to bring Zorro back into the family after 60 years and be a part of the legacy for other children to know they too can be the heroes of their own stories is a dream come true.”
Disney’s previous Zorro adaptation featured Guy Williams in the title role. It premiered in 1957 and ran for two seasons before seguing to four specials in The Magical World of Disney in 1960. According to THR, the new incarnation will be ” told in a contemporary telenovela style.”
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Disney Branded Television president Ayo Davis described the new series as having “richly drawn contemporary characters and relationships set against the action, drama, suspense, and humor of the original, iconic Zorro.”
Johnston McCulley created Zorro in 1919 for his novel, The Curse of Capistrano. In 1920, Douglas Fairbanks was the first actor to play the title role in The Mark of Zorro. Antonio Banderas starred in the two most recent Zorro feature films. But it’s been over 16 years since the character was on the big screen.
Are you looking forward to seeing Wilmer Valderrama’s upcoming Zorro series on Disney+? Let us know in the comment section below!
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