Wilmer Valderrama is all set to play the most famous masked vigilante of all time…well, the second most. He’s going to play Zorro, the titular character from Johnston McCulley’s 1919 novel The Curse Of Capistrano Zorro.
The series will be on Disney+. Valderrama, along with playing the lead role, will also serve as executive producer, according to Deadline. The President of Disney Branded Television, Ayo Davis, revealed that the series will be a reimagining of the ’50s Disney TV show. According to Davis, the series will be “a compelling period piece, set in Pueblo de Los Angeles, but told in a very modern telenovela style—with richly drawn contemporary characters and relationships set against the action, drama, suspense, and humor of the original, iconic Zorro.”
This sounds like the version of Zorro we’ve been waiting our whole lives for.
Wilmer Valderrama will be Zorro on Disney+
Valderrama is excited to play a character that many of us associate with Antonio Banderas, who starred in the 1998 film The Mask of Zorro and its sequel The Legend of Zorro.
“Growing up, Zorro was the one character that made me, as a Latino, feel like I could be a hero,” Valderrama said. “As an adult and a storyteller, I have a responsibility for the stories that I help bring to life. To partner with Gary 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.”
When Banderas played Zorro back in 1998, he was the first Hispanic actor to play the role in a Hollywood production.
And the revival of Zorro story won’t end with this Disney+ series. Mexican filmmaker Jonás Cuarón has been working on his own version for quite some time; his film stars Gael García Bernal as Zorro in a post-apocalyptic world. There are no updates on that one as of yet, but I’m definitely interested in checking it out!
I think Wilmer Valderrama is the perfect guy to take on this role. No premiere date has been announced, but check back here for more updates!
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h/t The A.V. Club