Zorro is an iconic character that needs no introduction, often referred as the main inspiration for Batman, the character created by American journalist Johnston McCulley, made its first appearance on the pages of “Pulp All Story weekend” as a tale called “The Curse of Capistrano”. The story was serialized with big success having through the years multiple adaptations to cinema and television, being the most memorable ones:
“The Mask of Zorro” (1920) with Douglas Fairbanks as the masked cruzader, in one of his most remarkable performances, in which he made an outstanding display of charisma and physical skils.
“The Mark of Zorro” (1940) with the unforgettable performance of Tyrone Powell, in an adaptation that made more emphasis on Zorro´s real identity, Don Diego de la Vega, than on his heroic masked incarnation.
“Zorro” (1957), The Disney television adaptation (and my personal favorite one) in which during three seasons and 83 exciting episodes, Guy Williams made an indelible portrayal of the hero, becoming in my humble opinion, the actor who better incarnated the character.
The Mask of Zorro (1997) a terrific action adventure that reinvented the story, with an outstanding Antonio Banderas playing Alejandro Murrieta, a bandit fated to succeed Don Diego de la Vega (Here played by a fantastic Anthony Hokpins) as the cape crusader.
On this 2024, the character will ride again played by spanish actor Miguel Bernardeau, who will have the difficult task of filling the boots of his predeccesors, on this spanish tv series set to be released on Amazon prime video on January 25th, 2024.
Again set on California on the 19th century, this time the story shows Don Diego de la Vega being choosen to be Zorro to uncover the murder of his father and fight against injustice.
The series created by Carlos Portela, hints on its first trailer with a flamboyant action spectacle, that on other hand, stinks too much to soap opera teleplay. However, only time will tell if this Zorro return will be triumphant or just a forgotten anecdote.
Available on Amazon Prime video, January 25th