Trivia / The Mask of Zorro

• Actor-Inspired Element: At the end, when Zorro confronts Captain Love, he pulls out his sword, and the sun glints off the blade running the full length. This was not CGI, and was suggested by Antonio Banderas. He had to tilt the sword to catch the sun without breaking eye contact with Love. It only took three takes.
• The Cast Showoff:
  • Antonio Banderas shows his skill at fencing and dancing.
  • Anthony Hopkins was very proud of the work he did mastering the bullwhip and insisted they let him show off a bit. The scene in the cave where Diego is extinguishing candles with the whip? That was Hopkins.
• California Doubling: Inverted. The film is set in what is now California, then called "Alta California", which was at the time a part of Mexico. It was shot on-location in Mexico, but further south, in the states of Hidalgo, Durango, Sonora, and Tlaxcala.
• Cowboy BeBop at His Computer: The Rotten Tomatoes Critics Consensus states: "Banderas returns as an aging Zorro in this surprisingly nimble, entertaining swashbuckler." This film is the first time Antonio Banderas plays Zorro (meaning that he cannot "return as" the role), and the "aging Zorro" is played by Anthony Hopkins instead.
• The Danza: Pedro Armendariz Jr plays Don Pedro, one of the Dons of California.
• Dawson Casting:
  • Elena is supposed to be 20 years old. Catherine Zeta-Jones was 27 when she played her.
  • Alejandro is in his late-20s throughout the movie. Antonio Banderas was 36 when he played him.
• Dueling Movies: This film came out it close proximity to the fellow 1998 swashbuckler The Man in the Iron Mask. Both feature older versions of the classic hero coming back into action in order to take down a corrupt ruler and mentoring a younger hero in training.
• Fake Nationality:
  • Both Don Diego and his daughter Elena are played by Welsh actors, Alejandro is a Mexican (technically a Californio) played by a Spaniard, and both villains (the probably Spanish Montero and the French Armand) are played by Englishmen.
  • As a point of interest, this is the first Zorro movie where the hero is played by a real Spaniard as in the books. Unfortunately, this version is not Don Diego de la Vega and is Mexican.
  • In the deleted scenes, Mexican general Santa Anna is played by Portuguese actor Joaquim De Almeida.
• Follow the Leader:
  • This film came out in a wave of modern swashbuckler adventure films that updated classic stories following the success of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, with bonus points for also having a love ballad/pop song made for it that's weaved into the orchestral score. Although in terms of its story whilst The Mask of Zorro may have inspired the 2002 film version of The Count of Monte Cristo; Zorro itself seems to be a retelling of the Monte Cristo story (it's actually a retelling of The Curse Of Capistrano).
  • It was also part of a wave of Hispanic-themed Hollywood films during The '90s and the early Noughties starting with 1492: Conquest of Paradise and Desperado. By The New '10s immigration and economic worries had switched the mood back to Hispanic villains and Anglo heroes, peaking with Rambo: Last Blood.
• Genius Bonus: Potentially a coincidence, but "The Mask of Zorro" is also the title of the last original Zorro story that his creator, Johnston McCullley, published. Fitting, given that Don Diego de la Vega is also Zorro's real name from those stories (something that carried over into the other adaptations prior to this one), and tragic since Don de la Vega ends up losing his life at the end of the film.
• Milestone Celebration: A musical variation with James Horner's score. La La Land Records released the complete soundtrack in late 2023 (which, while off by several months, still overlapped with the film's 25th anniversary).
• No Stunt Double: Antonio Banderas was extremely adamant about performing many of his own stunts for authenticity.
  • The part in Alejandro and Love's duel where Alejandro makes the sun reflect off his blade was Antonio's idea.
• Referenced by...:
  • Lampooned as the horribly anachronistic film "The Poke of Zorro" in The Simpsons episode "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt) (at the end, Zorro is made King of England by King Arthur). The undressing scene with a sword is directly parodied.
  • Puss in Boots in the Shrek films is a direct parody of Zorro voiced by Antonio Banderas himself, and became so popular he got two spinoff movies and a TV series all to himself.
• Release Date Change: The film was initially set for release on December 19, 1997 before the release date was changed to March 1998. There was speculation within the media about whether TriStar changed the date in an attempt to avoid competition with Titanic (1997). In reality, Zorro had encountered production problems that extended its shooting schedule. In addition, Sony Pictures Entertainment, TriStar's parent company, wanted an action film for its first quarter releases of 1998. The film was then delayed again to July of 1998 after more pick ups were commissioned.
• Star-Making Role: For Catherine Zeta-Jones.
• Uncredited Role: The Sting screenwriter David S. Ward made some uncredited rewrites.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Raúl Juliá was supposed to play Don Diego de la Vega, but died before he could take the role. Sean Connery was also offered the role.
  • Robert Rodriguez was originally going to direct with Salma Hayek playing Elena. Rodriquez left because the studio wouldn't accept his R-rated version, and Salma Hayek left when he did (presumably out of loyalty).
  • Steven Spielberg declined to direct with Tom Cruise starring, as he was busy with Saving Private Ryan. He did executive produce the film.
  • Spielberg offered Spanish cult movie director Álex de la Iglesia (The Day of the Beast, La Comunidad, The Last Circus) the chance to direct the film, but Iglesia left the project due to creative differences, most likely for reasons similar to Rodriguez's given his résumé of bizarre and violent fare.
  • Benicio del Toro and Andy García were considered for Alejandro Murrieta.
  • Penélope Cruz and Shakira were considered for Elena.
  • Sam Shepard, Lance Henriksen, Edward James Olmos, Scott Glenn and Giancarlo Giannini were considered for Rafael Montero.
  • In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's original draft of the screenplay, Don Diego was not killed, and lived to tell the stories of Zorro's adventures to his daughter. Captain Love also had a more Karmic Death, being struck by a saber which sticks in his neck, and getting decapitated accidentally when he falls face down.
  • The original draft also averted Rafael's Bond Villain Stupidity and Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? approach at the beginning, the guards assume he died in the fire and send Diego off to a Hellhole Prison. It is only then that Rafael emerges, nearly dead from rescuing Elena and ready to execute his foe, only to be told Diego has been taken away.

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