Rosario Dawson has signed on to star in a pilot for HBO Max based on the Brian Wood comic book ‘DMZ’, published by DC Comics, under its Vertigo imprint. ‘Westworld’s Roberto Patino is writing, executive producing and will act as showrunner. Ava DuVernay will also executive produce and direct the pilot. ‘DMZ’ will be produced by DuVernay’s Array Filmworks in association with Warner Bros. Television.
Set in the near future, ‘DMZ’ features an America that has been torn by a new civil war. Manhattan, the story’s main setting, has become a demilitarized zone (DMZ). Dawson will play “fierce medic Alma Ortego, who goes on a harrowing journey of saving lives while desperately searching for her lost son. As she contends with the gangs, militias, demagogues, and warlords that control this lawless no man’s land, she becomes the unlikely source of what everyone here has lost…hope.” (via Deadline) It appears that Alma Ortego is a substitution for the comics’ Zee Hernandez.
The ‘DMZ’ comic book lasted for 72 issues from 2005-2012.
Dawson is already attached to star in a separate series, USA’s crime drama ‘Briarpatch’ and is believed to have a one-year commitment to that. ‘Briarpatch’ premiers in February.
She was last seen in the film ‘Zombieland: Double Tap‘. She appeared in the Netflix Marvel shows as nurse Claire Temple, and she also starred in the comic book adaptations ‘Sin City’ and ‘Sin City: A Dame to Kill For’. She has provided the voice of Wonder Woman in multiple DC animated movies, and Batgirl in ‘The LEGO Batman Movie’.
DuVernay is attached to write and direct another DC movie property, ‘New Gods’, based on characters created by Jack Kirby. She has an extensive resumé serving as executive producer of TV shows, including ‘The Red Line’, ‘Queen Sugar’, and ‘Cherish the Day’, as well as Netflix’s Emmy Award-winning miniseries ‘When They See Us’.
This project is only being made into a pilot at this point. Check back for updates as they become available.
