Wilmer Valderrama To Lead Telenovela Take On ‘Zorro’ For Disney+
by Erik Amaya
Over fifty years ago, Walt Disney brought the adventures of Zorro to television. And now, Disney+ is reportedly getting back in the Zorro game. EW reports Wilmer Valderrama will star in a new Zorro series.
Taking its cues from the 1950s program, which starred Guy Williams as timid Don Diego de la Vega and the masked defender of justice, the new streaming series will give the program a telenovela edge, so expect outsized performances, dangling storylines, and something new for the character. But don’t worry about it being a modern day reboot; it will still take place in the Pueblo de Los Angeles of the 1820s.
Originally debuting in Johnston McCulley‘s 1919 novel, The Curse of Capistrano, the character became a household name thanks to 1920’s The Mask of Zorro film starring Douglas Fairbanks. Like Baroness Orczy‘s The Scarlet Pimpernel before it, the novel presaged the era of costumed pulp and comic book characters like The Shadow and The Bat-Man. Indeed, as part of the latter’s fictional history, a young Bruce Wayne went to see The Mask of Zorro the night his life was irrevocably changed. Granted, more recent versions of the Batman story use more modern films in lieu of the Fairbanks Zorro.
Back in the 20s, 30s, and 40s, Zorro would continue on as a film hero either in features or weekly serials before Disney scooped up the character for one of their early entries into television. Since that time, Zorro has appeared in films like Zorro: The Gay Blade and the Antonio Banderas-starring The Mask of Zorro.
As with all newly announced projects, it is unclear when the new Zorro series will make it to Disney+.
