Joe Begos is writing and directing a horror-tinted take on the masked vigilante known as Zorro. More on that project below. It’s only been a couple weeks since we reported that a Django/Zorro crossover movie was in the works. Zorro’s adventures won’t end there, it seems. Deadline now reports that Joe Begos, the man behind ... Zorro is getting the horror treatment next
Joe Begos is writing and directing a horror-tinted take on the masked vigilante known as Zorro. More on that project below.
It’s only been a couple weeks since we reported that a Django/Zorro crossover movie was in the works. Zorro’s adventures won’t end there, it seems.
Deadline now reports that Joe Begos, the man behind films such as Bliss and Jimmy and Stiggs, is writing another adventure centred on Don Diego Vega, titled They Call Him Zorro.
Here’s the synopsis: When Diego Vega is framed by a group of dirty city officials for a crime he didn’t commit, he escapes from prison and starts a relentless no-holds barred vengeance on corruption and crime in present day Los Angeles. The media quickly finds a name for the masked vigilante riding a black El Camino armed with chains, machetes, electric saws, and a sawed-off shotgun: Zorro.
Knowing Begos’ work, this is likely to be a rather bloody and tumultuous affair.
“This is not your parents’ Zorro. In our iteration, the masked folk hero has more to do with dark and violent characters such as The Punisher or The Crow,” said Gregory Chambet, producer and the co-head of WTFilms, which is backing the project.
“What if instead of being a coward by day, sword-yielding funny scoundrel by night, Diego Vega came back for vengeance in the form of a scary, brutal vigilante.”
Deadline also promises that Begos’ version will draw more from the original writings of Johnston McCulley. Begos also plans to shoot They Call Him Zorro on 35mm.
“We want to bring back the feel and visual texture of action references such as To Live and Die in L.A., RoboCop, or Hard Boiled,” the director said.
The hunt for this new Zorro is currently on the way.
“There is a lack of roles for talented Hispanic actors. Zorro is a Mexican character and we want to create a badass icon that makes the Latino community excited and proud,” Chamber commented.
We will have done our job right if people start dressing up as this new version of Zorro for Halloween,” he said.
“All of my favorite action movies, from T2 to Heat were shot on location in Los Angeles, and it’s always been a dream of mine to inhabit the same cultural playground to stage some of the most high octane and explosive set pieces imaginable, and this project is the perfect opportunity to showcase the beauty of the city, the beauty of its culture, and pull off some old school practical action filmmaking bathed in the crisp golden hour glow of Hollywood,” Begos said.
We’re looking forward to this new version of Zorro.
