Colton Haynes
EXCLUSIVE: Up-and-comer Jacob Rodriguez (Tell Me Lies) has landed the male lead in Dora and the Search for Sol Dorado (wt), the new live-action family film being produced for Nickelodeon and Paramount+ by Nickelodeon Studios.
With Samantha Lorraine on board for the title role, as previously announced, Rodriguez will play Diego, the adventurous and resourceful cousin of Dora first introduced in the hit kids’ franchise’s animated spin-off series Go, Diego, Go!.
Directed by Alberto Belli (Ultra Violet and Black Scorpion) from a script by JT Billings (Are You Afraid of the Dark?), the film will watch as Dora, Diego, and their new friends trek through the perilous dangers of the Amazonian jungle in search of the ancient and powerful treasure of Sol Dorado to keep it out of enemy hands.
Sol Dorado marks the second live-action feature out of the world of Dora the Explorer, on the heels of 2019’s Dora and the Lost City of Gold. Directed by James Bobin and starring Isabela Merced, that film grossed over $120 million worldwide. Adam Bonnett is serving as executive producer of the new project.
Lauded for its interactive format and bilingual content spanning English and Spanish, the Dora the Explorer franchise kicked off with a Nickelodeon animated series of the same same, created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh Valdes, and Eric Weiner, which ran for 177 episodes across eight seasons. The show centers on Dora, a young Latina girl, who embarks on various adventures with her talking backpack and map, often accompanied by her monkey friend, Boots, among others.
One of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time, which over the years has generated billions in retail sales, Dora has also spawned the follow-up series Go, Diego, Go! and Dora and Friends: Into the City, as well as a more recent animated reboot for Paramount+ — also from Gifford and Valdes — which premiered in April and has been renewed for a second season.
A Mexican American actor from the small agricultural town of Dinuba, California, Rodriguez can next be seen in a recurring role in the second season of Hulu’s Tell Me Lies, which is set to premiere this fall. Among his other upcoming projects is Hal & Harper, the buzzy, independently produced TV series from rising filmmaker Cooper Raiff.
Rodriguez is represented by Gersh and Kevin Donahue Management.
