Zorro reboot announced at Disney with Wilmer Valderrama to wear the mask

Last Updated on December 15, 2021

Steel yourselves, ladies and gentlemen, because a Zorro reboot is in the works at Disney Branded Television. Leading the series is Wilmer Valderrama (That ’70s Show, NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service) as Don Diego de la Vega and his suave alter ego, the masked horseman known as Zorro.

Disney’s Zorro reboot reimagines the Disney-ABC Zorro series of the 1950s. Zorro starred Guy Williams, Gene Sheldon, George J. Lewis, and Henry Calvin. Viewers swooned over Zorror for 78 episodes between 1957 and 1959, including my grandmother, who would often boast about Williams’s magnetism and machismo. I’m not going to lie; it got a bit uncomfortable at times.

“We’re reimagining this Disney classic as a compelling period piece, set in Pueblo de Los Angeles, but told in a very modern telenovela style — with richly drawn contemporary characters and relationships set against the action, drama, suspense, and humor of the original, iconic Zorro,” said Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television. “Wilmer shares our commitment to reflect the interesting and rich diversity of the human experience and we look forward to delivering a culturally relevant and entertaining story with definitional characters that will connect with our viewers for generations to come.”

Joining Valderrama as an executive producer on the project is Gary Marsh via his arrangement with Disney General Entertainment. John Gertz of Zorro Productions Inc. is also getting in on the action as an executive producer.

“Growing up, Zorro was the one character that made me, as a Latino, feel like I could be a hero,” Valderrama said. “As an adult and a storyteller, I have a responsibility in the stories that I help bring to life. To partner with Gary and Disney to bring Zorro back into the family after 60 years and be a part of the legacy for other children to know they too can be the heroes of their own stories is a dream come true.”

Whoa! Who would have ever thought that Fez from That ’70s Show would go on to become Zorro? Not me, that’s for damn sure. Then again, Valderrama’s role as Nick Torres on NCIS has treated him well, and he’s worked with Disney in the past on projects like Handy Manny, Onward, and Encanto. I’m interested to see what he can bring to a time-honored character like Zorro, and am always down for some swashbuckling fun. Let the Zorro reboot hype begin!