A new rumor indicates the upcoming Zorro film, “Z,” will feature a gender swap for the main character.
News broke last month that the film, which is being directed by Jonás Cuarón, would star Kiersey Clemons alongside Gael Garcia Bernal in a reimagining of Zorro that takes place in the not so distant future. Many assumed Bernal would be playing the legendary sword fighter. But that might not be the case.
A recent rumor from ThatHashTagShow indicates Clemons will be the lead in the film and she will play a teenager of Haitian descent.
However, ThatHashTagShow has since deleted their story, but MovieWeb reports Clemons’ character will call herself Zee in honor of the legendary Zorro. She will be trained by Bernal’s character who will pass “on the ways of the swashbuckler to the next generation.” Bernal’s character is named Emiliano Garza and is not referred to as Zorro.
The film will see Clemons’ character not only get trained by Bernal’s character, but they will also team up to take on a corrupt corporation known as M-Corp. The original report suggests that the mantle of Zorro is passed down from generation to generation.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who watched The Mask of Zorro starring Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins. Hopkins plays Don Diego de la Vega and passes on the ways of Zorro to Antonio Banderas’ Alejandro Murrieta.
Last month Gael Garcia Bernal spoke to Variety about the Zorro remake and remained mum on who exactly he is playing in the film.
“I can say very little because I don’t know when the project will happen. I have no idea. It will definitely be very different from previous filmed versions of the story. It takes place in what can be called “New Spain” when California was still part of Mexico. It was a whole different time. There was clash between Catholic people who spoke Spanish and Puritans who spoke English. And there were also issues of slavery. That angle has never previously been explored in Zorro. But I can’t reveal what my identity in the film will be (laughs).”
There hasn’t technically been a female Zorro before. However, in Zorro’s Black Whip, a 1944 film serial starring Linda Stirling, Republic Pictures introduced The Black Whip after being unable to actually use Zorro.
Dynamite Comics, Matt Wagner, and John K. Snyder III would introduce Lady Zorro in [easyazon_link identifier=”1606902717″ locale=”US” tag=”boundingintocomics-20″]Zorro Rides Again #9[/easyazon_link] back in 2012. She would misunderstand Zorro’s goals and use it to seek vengeance.
What do you think of this rumor? Would you be interested in seeing a female Zorro?