Zorro (1940) vs Zorro (1998)
Tyrone Power as Zorro
Don Diego assumes the role of Zorro after he comes back home to find his dad had been ousted as alcalde and replaced by a new corrupt alcalde, Don Luis Quintero. He learns of the mistreatment and decides to take action against the new leadership where he ousts Don Luis and his caballeros, restoring his father's position and bringing justice to the people. Intertwined is his romance with Don Luis' niece Lolita.
Linda Darnell as Lolita Quintero
Lolita is the niece of Don Luis Quintero. She catches the eye of Don Diego de la Vega. Unaware of his secret identity, she falls for Zorro, admiring his bravery. Don Diego reveals his identity to her and they marry in the end while Don Luis is cast off to Spain and forced to resign.
J. Edward Bromberg (right) as Don Luis Quintero
The new alcalde, Don Luis, extracts the wealth of the people with harsh taxes and mistreatment. He offers a bounty for Zorro, and escalates action as Zorro continues to torment him throughout the movie. He deduces that Don Diego is Zorro and locks him up, but Zorro escapes and defeats Don Luis in the end.
Anthony Hopkins as Don Diego de la Vega / Zorro
This Don Diego is much older than Power's portrayal. Here, Zorro is already seasoned and in the midst of his years. He is locked away, but escapes some 20 years later to reclaim his daughter Elena, who was stolen from him by the Spanish governor, Don Rafael Montero to raise Elena as his own. Though he is not as agile as he once was, he fought to reclaim his daughter and to carry on the legacy of Zorro by training a new Zorro, Alejandro Murrieta. Throughout the movie, we can see his central goal is to get Elena back and have her know the truth, and succeeds all the way until his final moments.
Antonio Banderas as Alejandro Murrieta / Zorro
He and his brother Joaquín helped Don Diego in a battle once when 3 peasants were to be executed. Fast forward 20 years later, the Murrieta brothers play as bandits, running a scam to collect a bounty on their heads. They are later chased by Don Rafael's right-hand man Captain Harrison Love. Alejandro escapes while Joaquín is shot, cornered, and shoots himself before Captain Love can kill him. Alejandro vows revenge against Captain Love. When Don Diego finds him drunk and with a medallion that was given to him at then end of the battle they fought together, he trains Alejandro to become the new Zorro to help him take down Captain Love and Don Rafael in the process.
Catherine Zeta-Jones as Elena Montero
Elena is the daughter of Don Diego de la Vega. When she was a baby, Don Rafael took her away from Don Diego after locking him up. She was raised as Don Rafael's daughter without knowing her true parents. She falls for Alejandro Murrieta as he begins to get close in Don Rafael's circle. Elena, like Lolita, goes against the conventional wisdom and admires Zorro, and confessing this attraction to Alejandro while hiding in a confession booth, who she unknowingly assumed was Padre.
Stuart Wilson as Don Rafael Montero
Don Rafael is an enemy of Don Diego. He is the ruthless Governor of Alta California. After deducing that Zorro was Don Diego de la Vega, he ambushes him at his residence to take him into custody, confirmed with blood he found on de la Vega's shirt from a recent battle. As there is struggle, Esperanza, Don Diego's wife, is killed in crossfire from one of Don Rafael's men. He later takes Elena away from Don Diego, raising her as his own daughter. He is the main antagonist of the movie, and is killed in the end.