Here's a confluence of actor and director that we called back in February. When Jonás Cuarón accepted the job of directing the futuristic Zorro reboot known as Z, we predicted that he could hire Gael García Bernal – who he'd just worked with on his debut behind the camera, Desierto – as Zorro. Guess what? That's exactly what he's doing.
Honestly, though, it's even less surprising than that, because Bernal had been linked with the role when the film was floating without a director way back in 2012. So having someone he knows and trusts come aboard was enough to make him take up the mask again.
Cuaron has also taken over script duty for a film which switches the setting for the hero's tale to the near future, where he'll be battling unknown villains. The cameras should be rolling in the autumn at Pinewood Dominican Republic Studios. Lantica Media and Sobini Films are behind the current iteration, having taken up the charge when 20th Century Fox abandoned plans. “I have always loved Gael for this role,” says Sobini CEO Amin who is producing with Lantica’s Albert Martínez Martín. “Zorro is a hero who is charming, witty and clever. Gael possesses all those characteristic and he’s able to deliver them with a modern spin to introduce the Zorro character to a new audience.”
Bernal recently won a Golden Globe for his role as prodigious orchestra conductor on Rodrigo on Mozart In The Jungle.