It appears that the original masked avenger could be headed back to the big screen, as Sony is reportedly in talks with horror director,Fede Alvarez, to reboot theZorrofranchise. According to a new rumor first posted by The Illuminerdi, as well as building their own superhero universe around the Marvel characters they currently hold the rights to, Sony is interested in branching out with one of the first ever men in a mask to fight for good.
Zorrois no stranger to both the big and small screen, having appeared in many cliffhanger serials between the 1930s and 1940s, through to the big budget movies of the late 90s and 2000s. With a legacy stretching back over 100 years,Zorrois one of the most iconic creations of the 1910s, predating superheroes such asBatmanandSupermanas a role model for youngsters, with an instantly recognizable appearance and logo that has endured through a century of many other popular fictional heroes.
The character of Zorro was originally created in 1919 by Johnston McCulley, making his first appearances in a number of short stories and novels set around the Spanish California era in the late 18th century. While he doesn’t have the super hero abilities of modern superheroes, he has a vast wealth and phenomenal sword fighting skills, and strives to avenge the oppressed and take vengeance on those taking advantage of the disadvantaged. LikeBatman, Zorro’s fearless persona is regularly hidden behind a regular façade, in this case the seemingly cowardly Don Diego de la Vega, the son of California’s wealthiest landowner.
Zorro’s first outing in print was the story The Curse of Capistrano, which arrived in five serialized installments in 1919. The story, which was later published as a single novel, was meant to be a one off tale, but after United Artists adapted it asThe Mark of Zorro, the first picture made by the studio in 1920, the character was an instant hit with cinema audiences in the relatively new era of movie pictures. TheMask of Zorroin 1998, starring Antonio Banderas - who would also voicePuss in Bootsin theShrekfranchise, a character who was essentially a feline version of Zorro - Catherine Zeta Jones and Anthony Hopkins, was a reboot of the franchise and was followed in 2005 byThe Legend of Zorro. The new reboot will be the first timeZorrohas been seen on screen since.
The new reboot is believed to be based on the original novel featuring Zorro, which has also been published under the title ofThe Mark of Zorroand is noted as one of the biggest selling novels of all time having shifted over 50 million copies. Alvarez is currently best known for helming the newest remake of theEvil Dead, as well asDon’t Breathe. He has also had a history with action movies such asThe Girl In The Spider’s Web, but he was also said to have turned down the option of working with Marvel due to the lack of creative freedom he would be granted working on an MCU film.
While some would question the director’s credentials for a movie to a franchise likeZorro, there are many other directors who have started out in horror such as Sam Raimi, who began his career with theEvil Deadbefore making the likes ofSpider-Manand the newDoctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness. There would be something of a poetic parallel if Alvarez did follow in Raimi’s footsteps, going from the gore of theEvil Deadto the original mask-wearing superhero of Zorro. We will watch this one with interest as news develops. This news comes to us fromThe Illuminerdi.
