Robert Rodriguez Plans ‘Zorro’ TV Series for CBS

Preview:

Robert Rodriguez’ ‘Zorro’ project, has found a home at CBS.
It’ll be a gender-swapped take on the sword-swinging hero.
‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’s John Hlavin is co-writing the pilot.

Robert Rodriguez will not let ‘Zorro’ go.

The filmmaker behind movies such as ‘El Mariachi,’ ‘Machete,’ ‘Sin City,’ ‘Spy Kids‘ and ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’ (to name but a few) has been trying to set up a gender-swapped version of the sword-swinging character for the last couple of years.

Rodriguez’ history stretches back to him nearly directing ‘The Mask of Zorro’ in 1998, but he’s been attached to a TV take since it was announced in December 2021.

“No one has seen his face… but everyone … knows this mark.”

PG-132 hr 16 minJul 16th, 1998

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Back then, it was set up with NBC, with a script from Alfredo Barrios Jr. and Rebecca Rodriguez (Robert’s sister) and counting Sofia Vergara and her LatinWe as part of its creative team.

It then moved to the CW in 2022, with Vergara dropping out and ‘Mayans M.C.’s Sean Tretta now on board to co-write with Rebecca.

With the CW largely getting out of the scripted series business, the show –– which always had the backing of CBS Studios –– now has a home at CBS the network.

What’s the story of this version of ‘Zorro’?

Catherine Zeta-Jones in ‘The Mask of Zorro’. Photo: TriStar Pictures.

According to Deadline, the show will follow a young Latinx woman discovers that her long-deceased father was the legendary hero Zorro.

She takes on his masked persona to defend the desperate citizens of her Austin, Texas community from the wealthy forces seeking to exploit them.

Who else is working on the new ‘Zorro’ series?

(L to R) Pedro Pascal and Director Robert Rodriguez on the set of 'We Can Be Heroes'. Photo: Ryan Green/Netflix © 2020.

The latest member of the behind-the-scenes team is John Hlavin, who created the adaptation of the movie ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’ for Showtime. He and Rebecca Rodriguez will write a new original script to launch the show, which we’re sure all involved are crossing their fingers actually happens this time.

What other ‘Zorro’ projects are out there?

Antonio Banderas in ‘The Mask of Zorro’. Photo: TriStar Pictures.

Rodriguez’ take on the character is far from the only ‘Zorro’ in development or already having hit screens.

French series ‘Zorro,’ starring Jean Dujardin as the masked swordsman, premiered on Paramount+ earlier this month. Before that, Prime Video’s ‘Zorro’ debuted in January with Miguel Ángel Bernardeau Duato leading the Spanish cast.

And Wilmer Valderrama has been developing a Zorro series of his own at Disney+ since 2021 with ‘Game of Thrones’ veteran Bryan Cogman jumping aboard last spring.

Valderrama is an executive producer and aims to star in the Disney Branded Television project, which is in active development.

It follows privileged caballero Diego De La Vega, who returns to his hometown of El Pueblo de Los Angeles following a family tragedy. There, he discovers a culture of corruption and injustice that will lead him to take on the mantle of the masked vigilante Zorro — America’s first true superhero.