The actor posted an Instagram video of himself in his gym unveiling a mirror emblazoned with a silhouette of Zorro mounted on his steed.

In the black and white vid, Valderrama is shown slowly, carefully removing a plastic film off the artwork to unveil the hero he will play in the series reimagined by Disney Branded Television. Valderrama does not say a word, using instead the Spanish-language ballad song “Brillo” by J Balvin and Rosalía as background music until the whole image is uncovered. He then turns to face the viewer before going off view with the camera then getting a close-up of Zorro holding his sword on his neighing horse, Tornado.

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The artwork may be a gift from Valderrama’s wife, Amanda Pacheco, a model and social media personality. The video is accompanied by the message: “Thanks to @seaweanie, I have new inspiration in the gym.. as I begin my next chapter training… #MyHourADay.” @seaweanie is Pacheco’s Instagram handle.

The new series is being produced by John Gertz, who was a co-producer of two movies about the masked vigilante, The Legend of Zorro in 1998 and The Mask of Zorro in 2005–both starring Antonio Banderas. Gertz was also a consultant on a previous TV series Zorro for 87 episodes in the early 1990s.

Also producing is Gary Marsh, former Disney Branded Entertainment president and chief creative officer. 

Disney’s new Zorro series will use a genre style more usually associated with Latin American television. “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,” says Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television.

“Wilmer shares our commitment to reflect the interesting and rich diversity of the human experience,” Davis adds. “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.”

Born in Miami and of Venezuelan and Colombian descent, Valderrama knows how important Zorro is for Latinos. “I’m excited to add to the legacy of the masked avenger while representing the Latino community, especially the younger generation that will grow up feeling represented as I have.”

The masked horseman was an inspiration for Valderrama in his youth. “Growing up, Zorro was the one character that made me, as a Latino, feel like I could be a hero,” he said. “As an adult and a storyteller, I have a responsibility for the stories that I help bring to life.”

Valderrama also stated that “partnering 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.”

In addition to playing special agent Nicholas Torres in the CBS series NCSI, Valderrama is currently working on various Hollywood projects. He is producing the family comedy series Mexican Beverly Hills with Erick Galindo and Aaron Izek for CBS and Hipster Death Battle with Rafael Agustin and Marvin Lemus for the CW.

Valderrama is repped by UTA and Silver Lining Entertaining. 

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Hollywood thinks there can never be enough of Zorro and Wilmer Valderrama seems to agree. He is developing for Disney Branded Television a reimagined Don Diego de la Vega and his alter ego, the hero masked horseman Zorro.

The series is being produced by John Gertz, a consultant on a previous TV series Zorro for 87 episodes 1990-1993, and Gary Marsh, former Disney Branded Entertainment president and chief creative officer. 

Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television, said to industry media, “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.”

“Wilmer shares our commitment to reflect the interesting and rich diversity of the human experience,” Davis added. “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.”

And what does Valderrama think? 

“I’m excited to add to the legacy of the masked avenger while representing the Latino community, especially the younger generation that will grow up feeling represented as I have.”

The masked horseman was an inspiration for Valderrama in his youth. “Growing up, Zorro was the one character that made me, as a Latino, feel like I could be a hero,” he said. “As an adult and a storyteller, I have a responsibility for the stories that I help bring to life.”

Valderrama also stated that “partnering 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.”

Valderrama is currently working on various Hollywood projects. He is producing the family comedy series Mexican Beverly Hills with Erick Galindo and Aaron Izek for CBS and Hipster Death Battle with Rafael Agustin and Marvin Lemus for the CW. His credits also include the voice of the character Agustin in Disney’s Encanto and he continues to portray NCIS Special Agent Nicholas Torres on CBS’ NCIS.

Valderrama is repped by UTA and Silver Lining Entertaining. 

Featured Photo: Wilmer Valderrama (Photo: CBS) / Artwork for the cover of Zorro 2 (Photo: Mike Mayhew/Dynamite Entertainment)

Check out the video trailer of The Mask of Zorro, the 1998 TriStar Pictures action film featuring Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins.

The post Wilmer Valderrama Takes the Helm on the Reimagined ‘Zorro’ Series first appeared on .

The new sci-fi series Debris, about an alien spaceship, is landing on NBC this coming month, and its first episode is co-directed by Rebecca Rodriguez.

Debris is about the wreckage from a spacecraft whose remains fall across a large section of Earth. The pieces have strange effects in the areas where they have come down, defying gravity and other physics laws and impacting people’s lives in unforeseen ways. Two agents from different continents try to recover all the debris to understand its nature and power before it falls into the wrong hands. 

A DIVERSE CAST
The show stars up-and-coming actors Jonathan Tucker (The Ruins) and Riann Steele (The Magicians) as CIA and MI6 agents, respectively. Its diverse cast also features Thomas Cadrot (Firefly Lane), Armin Karame (Upload), Alex Bogomolov (Arrow), Myrasol Martinez (When Hell Calls Your Name), and debutante child actor Calix Miguel, among many others.

Debris is executive produced by its creator J.H. Wyman (Fringe, The Mexican), who also co-writes. Producing the series are Frequency Films and Legendary Television.

FILMMAKING FAMILY
Rodriguez is the sister of acclaimed filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (Machete, El Mariachi). In fact, her first known film credit is starring in the short Bedhead, directed by her brother Robert back in 1991. She later appeared in a small role in Spy Kids.

As an editor, Rebecca Rodriguez has worked in the Sundance film Frank & Lola, Machete Kills and Machete, the latter two also directed by her famous brother. She is also listed as a producer in Spy Kids 4-D: All the Time in the World.

Rodriguez is an up-and-coming filmmaker who has been producing a few episodes for series like Orville, Queen of the South, and Nancy Drew. Her latest work includes the episodics Snow Pierce, The Chi, and Mayans M.C.

In her biggest job yet, Rebecca Rodriguez is set to executive produce the TV series Zorro, created by her brother Robert, produced by CBS, and distributed by NBC.

Debris premieres March 1 on NBC. 

Featured Top Photo: In Debris (l-r): Yoshi Bancroft as Agent McGuire, King Lau as Situation Team Agent, and Riann Steele as Finola. Photo by: Sergei Bachlakov/NBC.

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Zorro Returns to TV as a Woman Caped Crusader

A female-centric Zorro TV series is being developed for NBC as part of a first look deal between CBS Television Studios and Propagate, a production company led by Ben Silverman and Howard Owens. Zorro is being developed by Alfredo Barrios Jr. (Magnum P.I. showrunner) as a modern retelling of the black-clad masked caped crusader of old California. Barrios Jr. will write the pilot as well as executive produce the series with a female sword-wielding Zorro as the lead protagonist. (Featured photo from The Legend of Zorro 2005)

First created in 1919 by Johnston McCulley in his serialized story “The Curse of Capistrano,” the fictional aristocratic Californio Don Diego de La Vega and his alter ego Zorro has been immortalized in films, television, comic books and novels. The most recent big screen outing was The Legend of Zorro in 2005 starring Antonio Banderas and on the small screen, New World’s Zorro starring Duncan Regher, Henry Darrow and the late Patrice Martinez Camhi. A female Zorro will be a welcome new twist to the character especially in this era of inclusion, gender bending and the me too movement. Since the project is in development no casting or projected airdate has been set.   

Under the same deal, Propagate is developing Home, also for NBC, written and executive produced by Jorge Reyes (Queen of the South showrunner) about a wealthy Puerto Rican family who oversees an intricate set of powerful alliances in industrial Buffalo, New York is in series development.

Ben Affleck to join Robert Rodriquez’s upcoming action film Hypnotic.

Ben Affleck joins Robert Rodriquez‘s  Hypnotic, an upcoming action movie written and directed by RR. The Oscar-winning actor is cast as a detective in a mystery thriller that involves him on a hunt for his missing daughter that leads to uncovering a secret covert government operation tied to a string of near-impossible criminal heists. This is the first on-screen collaboration between actor Affleck and the auteur director.

Rodriquez is trying to accommodate the films’ schedule to the busy actor’s commitments with a planned April 2020 start of production.   Affleck begins production this month on a New Regency Film Deep Water, co-starring Ana de Armas, followed by a Ridley Scott period drama The Last Duel that also stars Matt Damon and Adam Driver. 

Rodriquez’s latest hit film Alita: Battle Angel starred Rosa Salazar and is now out on Blu-Ray- Digital and DVD as well as available on streaming services. 

Affleck was seen earlier this year starring with Oscar Isaac and Charlie Hunnam in the South American set drug cartel heist action-adventure feature Triple Frontier for Netflix.

Hypnotic is the first project between Jeff Robinov’s Studio 8 and Mark Gill’s Solstice studios. Rodriguez and Robinov will produce together with Studio 8’s Guy Danella and John Graham 

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