Antonio Banderasis currently appearing inIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, but in a recent interview withYahoo! Entertainmentthe actor reflected one of this older action adventure movies:The Mask of Zorro. Celebrating 25 years since the movie’s release, The Mask of Zorro is one movie that Banderas looks back on with pride, as both one of his first big Hollywood productions and as a movie that didn’t rely on the use of the CGI to create its thrilling visuals. He explained:
“It was very significant because my career up to that point was [mostly] European movies, especially all the work that I did with Pedro Almódovar. Suddenly I got into a completely different universe, a universe of action, a universe of international movies that went all around the world. It was unbelievable… it was such a huge success.”
Working with Steven Spielberg on the movie was also a great experience for Banderas, who had previously had smaller roles in movies like Philadelphia and the lead role in Desperado, and he recalled the director pointing out how The Mask of Zorro was potentially the end of an era of non-CGI filmmaking. He continued:
“Steven Spielberg said to me once when we were shooting, ‘This is probably going to be one of the last Westerns shot in the way the Westerns were shot in the old days, with real scenes with real horses, where everything is real, [real] sword fighting, no CGI.’ Everything was [practical].And he said, ‘But things are going to change. they’re going to change and they’re gonna change fast. And so you should be proud of this movie.’ And I am, probably even more now than at the time that I was doing it. I don’t know if I was absolutely conscious when I was doing Zorro that it was going to have an impact. The impact that it’s had, and especially after 25 years. … It was a very beautiful adventure movie with a lot of ingredients that made it shine in a very beautiful way. I have nothing but good memories.”
Related:Antonio Banderas Would Return for a Zorro Reboot to ‘Pass the Torch’ to a New Actor
Zorro Will Ride Again – As a Disney+ TV Show.
While Antonio Banderas’ time playing Zorro seemed to have ended with his two movies, the Zorro legend continues on with plans currently in place for a Disney+ TV series with Wilmer Valderrama signed on to play the titular swordsman. Banderas previously noted that he would be more than happy to return and hand over the mantle to a new Zorro if he was asked.
Although there have been other potential ways for the story of Zorro to be continued on screen, includinga female-led rebootthat was originally set to become part of The CW’s scripted scheduling, they have failed to take off. Maybe that is not necessarily a bad thing, as with so many reboots and remakes littering theaters and streaming platforms, it may just mean that now would be a good time to revisit Banderas’The Mask of Zorroinstead.
