Gael Garcia Bernal to Play Zorro in 'Z'
Gael Garcia Bernal accepts the Golden Globe for best actor in a TV comedy series for his role in ‘Mozart in the Jungle’ on Jan. 10, 2016. (Photo: Paul Drinkwater/NBC via AP)
By Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter
Gael Garcia Bernal seems finally set to star as Zorro in Z, Jonas Cuaron’s futuristic reboot of the franchise.
The actor has been associated on-and-off with the long-gestating project since it was set up at 20th Century Fox over a decade ago when filmmakers such as Bryan Singer and Ricardo de Montreuil were involved and when it was called Zorro Reborn.
Related: Jonas Cuaron to Write, Direct Futuristic Zorro Tale 'Z’
Z reshapes the legend of Zorro — the pulp hero created in 1919 as a fighter for the forlorn rural class during the Spanish colonization of California in the 19th century — as a masked crusader taking on the villains of the near-future.
The pic, which is being presented to buyers at the upcoming Cannes film market, will begin shooting this fall at the Pinewood studio in the Dominican Republic.
Lantica Media is financing the feature project, which will be sold internationally by Pantelion Films. Mark Amin and Albert Martinez Martín will produce the action-adventure, with Cami Winikoff, David W. Higgins, and Antonio Gennari acting as executive producers.
Related: ‘Desierto’ Trailer: Gael Garcia Bernal Stars in a Modern Migrant Narrative
Garcia Bernal and Cuaron recently worked together on the immigration thriller Desierto, which premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival and is set to be released later this year by STX.
Garcia Bernal was awarded a Golden Globe for his performance on Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle, a role that he will reprise in the series’ third season. The actor is repped by WME and Hansen Jacobson.
Vintage clip: Watch a teaser for 1944 serial ‘Zorro’s Black Whip’:
