Garcia Bernal to mark Fox’s ‘Zorro Reborn’

After a prolonged search, 20th Century Fox is zeroing in on Mexican thesp Gael Garcia Bernal to star in “Zorro Reborn.”

Pic is a futuristic reboot of the Zorro mythology that will not be set in California or Mexico, despite the story’s Western themes. Garcia Bernal would play the Spanish swordsman as a masked vigilante bent on revenge.

Fox declined comment.

Glenn Gers wrote the script along with “Harker” scribes Lee Shipman and Brian McGreevy. Project is still seeking a director.

Mark Amin, Cami Winikoff and David Higgins will produce for Sobini Films; 20th Century Fox exec Steve Asbell will oversee the project for the studio. The Zorro character was last seen on screen in Martin Campbell’s 2005 pic “The Legend of Zorro,” which starred Antonio Banderas. Sony, which released two Zorro films starring Banderas, is developing its own origin story about the swashbuckling hero based on Isabel Allende’s 2005 novel “Zorro.”

Garcia Bernal, who next stars opposite Will Ferrell in the Spanish-language comedy “Casa de mi Padre” and alongside Kate Hudson in “A Little Bit of Heaven,” has worked with an impressive lineup of foreign filmmakers including Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Alfonso Cuaron, Walter Salles, Michel Gondry, Fernando Meirelles and Pedro Almodovar.

Garcia Bernal is repped by WME.

Gael Garcia Bernal is sooooooooooooooo sexy and charming. I hope this new Zorro take advantage of that.

Futuristic? That is an odd choice. I might watch it, might enjoy it, but it is odd.

'Zorro' to Get Post-Apocalyptic Reboot Film

Zorro Reborn has been reborn.

The film project about a futuristic Zorro has found new life with a partnership between Lantica Media and Sobini Films.

Lantica, the media company led by CEO Antonio Gennari that works in production and financing as well as studio space, will finance the movie with a plan to begin principal photography March 2016 in Pinewood Dominican Republic Studios.

Veteran producer and Sobini CEO Mark Amin, whose credits include Good Kill and Frida, will produce the film.

Pantelion Films will handle international sales with sales launching at the Toronto Film Festival.

Zorro Reborn is a post-apocalyptic take on the myth of Zorro, the pulp hero created in 1919. The traditional stories cast Zorro as a hero of peasants and farmers who fought against corrupt and brutal officials of Spanish-held California. Reborn is set in the near future but keeps the idea of a masked and caped stranger taking on tyrants.

The project had been previously set up at 20th Century Fox with names such as Bryan Singer, Ricardo de Montreuil, Garry Whitta and Justin Marks involved with it over the years.

A search is underway for a filmmaker to tackle the project.

“This has been a fifteen year journey filled with ups and downs but it has remained my passion project over the years,” said Amin.

“Every generation has its own Zorro hero and we’re proud to be able to introduce a new Zorro to this generation,” said Gennari.

Albert Martinez Martin is overseeing production for Lantica Pictures. Cami Winikoff and David W. Higgins will executive produce on behalf of Sobini.

Jonas Cuaron to Direct Futuristic Zorro Tale 'Z'

Jonas Cuaron, the son of filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron who made his directorial debut with immigration thriller Desierto, has signed on to direct Z, a futuristic take on the Zorro tale.

Lantica Media and Sobini Films are behind the movie.

Lantica, the media company led by CEO Antonio Gennari that works in production and financing as well as studio space, will finance the movie with a plan to begin principal photography this summer in Pinewood Dominican Republic Studios.

Veteran producer and Sobini CEO Mark Amin, whose credits include Good Kill and Frida, will produce the film.

Z is a reworking the long-gestating Zorro Reborn, a postapocalyptic take on the myth of Zorro, the pulp hero created in 1919.

The traditional stories cast Zorro as a hero of peasants and farmers who fought against corrupt and brutal officials of Spanish-held California. Z is set in the near future but retains the conceit of a masked, caped stranger taking on tyrants.

Cuaron co-wrote and directed Desierto, which stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. The movie won the International Critics’ Award at the 2015 Toronto Film Festival and is slated for release this spring by STX. He also co-wrote Gravity with his father.