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Previously set up at Apple TV+, the Latino comic book series adaptation of El Gato Negro is reportedly eying a jump to Netflix.
At the end of summer 2019, it was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter that director Robert Rodriguez (Desperado, Sin City) and actor Diego Boneta (Die In A Gunfight, Terminator: Dark Fate) were teaming up with MGM Television to develop a series based on the Richard Dominguez comic book El Gato Negro, aka, The Black Cat. Early stories suggested that the new show would be heading to Apple TV+ as part of its increasing lineup of genre streaming projects. However, the superhero show has reportedly left Apple.
A recent article from Deadline that focuses on a slew of upcoming projects from Wednesday producer Andrew Mittman, stemming from an overall deal with MGM Television, briefly mentions El Gato Negro has jumped to Netflix with Mittman onboard via 1.21. He’s also said to continue with Wednesday as it was announced for a season two pick-up not too long ago.
El Gato Negro centers on the intergenerational exploits of two crime-fighting heroes in South Texas. The first is a young man who takes up the mantle of a fabled local hero to avenge the death of his best friend, while the other is his grandfather, a lucha (Mexican wrestler) who turned to crime-busting decades earlier.
Eric Carrasco had been originally cited as scripting the story for El Gato Negro. The writer had worked on the CW series Supergirl set in the Arrowverse and the Netflix animated series Masters of The Universe: Revelation which hails from Kevin Smith. Although, a showrunner has yet to be formally announced, and when we could expect the show to go in front of cameras since we would expect that Rodriguez would want to potentially direct episodes.
This report of the show jumping out to us stands out to us given high profile Rodriguez and we reached out to Netflix to get an official comment if the series has indeed moved from Apple to Netflix. They provided no comment saying they had nothing to confirm at this time.
Then again, a profile like the one penned by Deadline normally comes directly from the horse’s mouth or the PR team sending out a rewritten release used to craft the announcement about Mittman’s deal at MGM. While it could have been a slip, we’re under the impression that the information is correct until Netflix/Apple says otherwise.
Worth noting given Rodriguez’s growing relationship with Netflix, this move wouldn’t be that terribly surprising.
The filmmaker isn’t a stranger to working with Netflix as the filmmaker made We Can Be Heroes for the streamer and the upcoming reboot Spy Kids: Armageddon which stars Zachary Levi and Gina Rodriguez.
A sequel to We Can Be Heroes is also in early development. Of course, his other projects keeping him busy over the years include the James Cameron-produced cyberpunk film Alita: Battle Angel along with playing in the expansive Star Wars sandbox as he helmed episodes of Lucasfilm’s The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.
Robert Rodriguez Netflix Finish Filming Spy Kids
