In the fall of 2022, the La Marquesa Gardens on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, known for their lush tropical vegetation and roosters and peacocks, were filled with over 200 members of a film crew filming the TV series “Zorro” now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. This new version of the popular hero’s story aims to capture the cultural diversity of 1830s California while promoting a contemporary feminist perspective. Like other remakes, such as The Little Mermaid starring Halle Bailey and the expanded Lord of the Rings universe, the new “Zorro” embraces diversity in this latest retelling of the adventures of the mysterious masked man.

The show’s writer and creator, Carlos Portela (Velvet, Cable Girls), started with a simple question: “What kind of Zorro do we want now?”

This iconic masked hero has a rich history dating back to 1919 when Johnston McCulley introduced the character to Argosy magazine. Over the decades, there have been numerous film and television adaptations.

Many have equated Zorro with Antonio Banderas, a sly guy who flirts all the time, but for the time that would have been highly sexist. So the makers wanted to get away from all that and use this myth to tell a story that is relevant in its time. “#MeToo!

One of the important aspects of the renewal of the story was the independence and strength of the female characters. Javier Quintas, director of the hit TV series ‘Money Heist’, also contributed to ‘Zorro’ and recognized the need to reflect the feminist values ​​of our time. The new Zorro brings changes that connect the new generation who may not be familiar with the hero.