As we learned not long ago, Gravity co-writer Jonas Cuaron (son of Gravity director Alfonso) is set to helm a post-apocalyptic big screen reboot of Zorro, simply titled Z. The long-developing project has officially found its leading man, and it looks like they didn’t have to go very far, as Cuaron has cast Gael Garcia Bernal — who just happens to star in the director’s upcoming border-crossing drama Desierto.

Deadline reports that Bernal will play the title role in Z, Cuaron’s post-apocalyptic take on Zorro, the iconic and prolific protagonist last seen on the big screen in 2005’s The Legend of Zorro. Bernal also headlines Desierto, Jonas Cuaron’s directorial debut, which recently opened in Mexico and France and hits U.S. theaters later this year.

Cuaron says he’s “always loved Gael for this role,” and it’s easy to imagine the typically charismatic Bernal as the swashbuckling hero. In addition to appearing in Desierto, the actor stars in the acclaimed Amazon series Mozart in the Jungle, which recently earned Bernal a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series.

Initially conceived under the title Zorro Reborn, Z takes place in the not-too-distant future and offers a post-apocalyptic reimagining of the classic character. Cuaron will direct the reboot from his own screenplay.

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