Antonio Banderas Would Return To His Best Role Under One Condition
Antonio Banderas says he would return to the Zorro series only to pass the role to a younger actor.
Antonio Banderas isn’t interested in keeping the Zorro title forever. Instead, the Desperado star stated during a recent interview with ComicBook.com that he’d prefer to pass the torch to a hip new Zorro actor if given the chance to appear in the franchise again. Reboots and legacy sequels have become a huge trend in Hollywood in recent years, especially with the gargantuan box office success of films such as the Tom Cruise-led Top Gun: Maverick, and many fans would be more than happy to see Banderas pass the ceremonial torch to a new masked hero, just as Anthony Hopkins passed it on to Banderas in The Mask Of Zorro in 1998.
The character of Zorro was created in 1919 by writer Johnston McCulley, and has appeared in a plethora of fictional works in the hundred years since its creation. While the character technically exists within the public domain, Zorro productions inc. owns the trademark and film licensing rights. The public hasn’t had a new film installment in the Zorro anthology since 2005’s The Legend Of Zorro starring Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones.
When asked if he would like to appear in another Zorro film, now nearly twenty years later, Antonio Banderas had this to say: “Yes, I would, I would consider that possibility, why not? …If they called me to do Zorro, I would do what Anthony Hopkins did for me, which is to pass the torch.” When a character such as Zorro has existed in pop culture for over a century, it only makes sense to continue to provide new fresh perspectives on the concept, such as Sherlock Holmes, or Doctor Who.
While there’s no word yet on a Zorro reboot film in which Antonio Banderas could star alongside a new masked vigilante, there has been some talk in recent years of a Zorro television show in production at The CW, featuring a gender-swapped take on the character for modern audiences. Separately, there is also a Zorro production of some sort being made by Disney+ with That 70’s Show‘s Wilmer Valderrama, though there is no word at this time of Banderas’ being involved.
Despite Banderas not being attached to either series at this time, the two shows coming out in tandem with one another surely indicates some public interest and shows that the character is still popular and in demand. Given that Antonio Banderas’ Zorro has been the defining version of the character for the last two decades, it only seems reasonable that one of the production studios will reach out to him to reprise his role. This seems especially likely considering the recent nostalgia-centered production choices of Disney, such as Star Wars’ The Book Of Boba Fett, as well as the host of live-action remakes of 20th-century Disney classics.
Of course, if you’re clamoring to see a leather-clad Antonio Banderas swing a rapier, do not fret, as Banderas leads the new film Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, which claws its way into theaters this December, and sees the adorable yet deadly Shrek spinoff character set out on an epic journey sure to inspire some cheeky inside jokes about the actors’ history with the Zorro character.
