In this age of superhero movies and TV, it was only a matter of time before one of the very first masked vigilantes in popular culture returned to the screen. Sure enough, a new TV series is in development based on the classic hero Zorro. The twist is that this will be a modern-day reboot of the property in which the character is a woman.
Deadline has reported that CBS Television and Propagate have partnered up to create the project, which is currently going by the simple title Zorro, for NBC. Magnum P.I.‘s Alfredo Barrios Jr. will serve as showrunner and the USP of this version is that it’s set to be a contemporary spin on the familiar legend, focusing on a woman named Z, who Deadline describes as “a descendant of the warrior bloodline who will go to great lengths to protect the defenseless in her community.”
Before anyone starts complaining about the changes made to the status quo in this version, it should be pointed out that it’s a traditional element of Zorro mythology that the mantle is passed down from hero to hero throughout the generations. In 1998’s The Mask of Zorro, for example, Anthony Hopkins’ Don Diego de la Vega, the original Zorro, trained up Antonio Banderas’ Alejandro Murrieta to replace him.
Obviously, moving things into the modern-day will presumably mean Zorro’s costume and methodology will have to be updated, so Z might be armed with more than a sword and forego traveling around on horseback. But the character’s quest for social justice should be easy to adapt and allow the series to tackle some contemporary, real-world issues.
Of course, if you’re after some old-fashioned Zorro action, Quentin Tarantino is currently developing a Django/Zorro crossover movie/sequel to Django Unchained.
