'Django/Zorro' Movie Coming From Quentin Tarantino And Jerrod Carmichael
The comic series Django/Zorro is headed to the big screen, courtesy of Quentin Tarantino and Jerrod Carmichael. Carmichael has been tapped to write the script, but it's unclear if Tarantino will co-write with him. It's also unclear if Tarantino plans to direct the potential movie, or if he will simply hand the project off to someone else. The film is based on the comic sequel to Tarantino's Django Unchained, and focuses on that film's lead character teaming up with the legendary Zorro.
Collider is reporting that a Django/Zorro movie is officially happening. The sourcing here is a bit confusing, but per Collider's story, multiple sources say "the film adaptation is real and that Carmichael is working on the script, though they differ on whether he's writing it on his own with oversight from Tarantino, or co-writing with Quentin himself as well as another, as-yet-unidentified writer." So there you have it – this exists, and Tarantino may or may not be working on it, but Jerrod Carmichael definitely is.
The film will adapt the comic series written by Matt Wagner, with art by Esteve Polls, that served as the official sequel to Tarantino's 2012 film Django Unchained. Here's the comic series synopsis:
The official Django Unchained sequel, uniting the gun-blazing Western hero with the legendary swordsman of literature, film, and comics: Zorro! Set several years after the events of Django Unchained, Django again pursues evil men in his role as a bounty hunter. Taking to the roads of the American Southwest, he encounters the aged and sophisticated Diego de la Vega by sheer chance. Django is fascinated by this unusual character, the first wealthy white man he's met who seems totally unconcerned with the color of his skin... and who can hold his own in a fight. Django hires on as Diego's bodyguard, and is soon drawn into a fight to free the local indigenous people from brutal servitude. Learning much from the older man (as he did from King Schultz), he discovers that slavery isn't exclusive to his people, as he even dons the mask of Zorro in their mission of mercy!
This could actually end up being pretty damn cool overall, although I'll admit I'd be a bit more enthusiastic if it was confirmed Tarantino was both co-writing the script and also directing. The idea of Tarantino directing a movie with Zorro as a character is too good to pass-up. But hiring Carmichael to write is an interesting move unto itself, and suggests the film is aiming for an overly comedic tone.
In addition to the question of Tarantino's involvement, several other questions arise: will Jamie Foxx reprise his role from Django Unchained? Who will play Zorro? We'll have to wait for these answers.
News of this project comes on the heels of the recent revelation that Tarantino had cut together a director's cut of Django Unchained, and plans to release it sometime after his upcoming Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood.