Did you know that, in 2014, Quentin Tarantino co-wrote a comic that continued the adventures of Jamie Foxx’s titular character in Django Unchained? And did you also know that seven-part series also included a crossover with Zorro? Yes, the Zorro. No to both questions? Fair. Pretty wild, huh? That’s nothing compared to the latest news around the comic. One of the best screenwriters in Hollywood is turning it into a film.
Deadline reports Sony Pictures has tapped Mystic River Academy Award-winner writer Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential) to adapt a story from Dynamite Entertainment’s Django Unchained graphic novel. The series served as a de facto sequel to Tarantino’s 2012 film starring Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Johnson, and Walton Goggins.
Tarantino co-wrote the comic with Matt Wagner. While Tarantino will not direct this Django/Zorro crossover film, Deadline says he has given the project his approval. It also comes on the heels of the upcoming sequel The Adventures of Cliff Booth, which Tarantino did not direct, either.
This is not the first time a possible Django Unchained– Zorro adaptation was in development. However, the hiring of Helgeland (and new, less complicated rights issues) is the biggest step yet to making it real. As for the story, he is said to be penning a new tale that continues Django’s story as a man seeking out the worst of the worst. In the comics the former slave-turned-bounty hunter befriends Don Diego de la Vega, better known to the world as Zorro.
You can definitely do worse than having Zorro on your side while hunting villains. Whether or not this big screen team-up will feature either Foxx or Antonio Banderas returning to their iconic roles is unknown. But no matter who plays them, there’s no question we’re betting on this duo against anyone foolish enough to oppose them.