Quentin Tarantino has tapped Jerrod Carmichael to co-write a Django/Zorromovie based on the crossover comic book series of the same name, multiple sources tell Collider.. Written by Tarantino and released by Dynamite Entertainment and DC Comics, the series served as a sequel to the director’s 2012 movie Django Unchained starring Jamie Foxx.
The story takes place several years after the events of Django Unchained. Django is still a bounty hunter, and since there’s a warrant on his head back east, he has mainly been plying his trade in the western states. After safely settling his wife, Broomhilda, near Chicago, he takes to the road once again, sending her funds whenever he completes a job. It’s by sheer chance that he encounters the aged and sophisticated Diego de la Vega — the famed Zorro — and soon finds himself fascinated by this unusual character, who can also hold his own in a fight. It’s not long before Django becomes Diego’s ‘bodyguard’ and joins him on a mission to free the local indigenous people from slavery.
Word of the project first surfaced in the wake of the 2014 Sony hack, which revealed several email exchanges between Tarantino and then-Sony boss Amy Pascal. One email from Tarantino read, “D/Z could be really fun!” and Pascal described the series as “super cool.” Since then, Collider has heard from multiple sources that 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. While it’s unclear whether the Django/Zorro project is officially set up at Sony, the studio did handle the international release of Django Unchained and is releasing Tarantino’s latest film, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, though it’s entirely possible that Tarantino is developing the project on his own, and will merely give Sony first dibs given their recent history together. Sony had no comment.
It also remains unclear whether Tarantino would direct the project himself, though he has said in the past that he intends to retire following his tenth film, and as someone who has followed his career closely, I have a hard time believing he’d end it with Django/Zorro. No, I’d wager that he’ll simply wind up producing Django/Zorro should it ultimately come to fruition, though he’ll no doubt hand-pick the filmmaker himself. Of course, it’s worth noting that Tarantino rarely produces movies that he doesn’t direct, though he has served as an executive producer on Eli Roth‘s Hostel movies, as well as films directed by his pals Robert Rodriguez and Roger Avary. Tarantino is represented by WME, and a representative for the filmmaker declined to comment.
Carmichael is the standup comic who created The Carmichael Show, which earned raves for the way it handled sensitive topics, including race. He’s now an executive producer on Hulu’s original comedy series Ramy. Carmichael is also co-writing the 48 Hours remake with the Safdie Brothers, and he has been developing his own directorial debut titled On the Count of Three, in which he’s slated to star alongside Christopher Abbott. He’s represented by UTA, and a representative for the multi-hyphenate did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
