After recently securing the rights to a massive Lord Of The Rings series, Amazon have now reeled in another big fish. The streaming studio is partnering with Steven Spielberg and Javier Bardem to revive a long-dormant script from screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (Spartacus, Roman Holiday).
The four-hour miniseries will be titled Cortes, and will revolve around the life of conquistador Hernan Cortes, and how his relationship with Aztec emperor Montezuma shaped the course of history. Amazon has given a straight-to-series order for the project.
Based on the screenplay by the late Trumbo, the series will be written by Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List) with Bardem set to star. Spielberg will produce with Amblin Entertainment, who have recently made some waves in TV by producing shows such as The Americans, Bull, and Hulu’s upcoming reboot of Animaniacs.
The script was originally written in the 1960s – a decade after Trumbo was blacklisted as a part of the Hollywood Ten, the group of filmmakers who refused to answer questions regarding possible communist affiliations – and was originally intended to star Kirk Douglas. It was also briefly revived in 2014 at Dreamworks under the title Montezuma, with Spielberg in talks to direct.
It’s unclear if the legendary filmmaker will have any hand in directing this miniseries but one can always hope. Bardem seemed excited about the project when he said:
“It is a privilege to tell this epic story — one that is full of drama and conflict within this huge, historical spectacle where two distant civilisations clash at the height of their reign. The best and worst of human nature came to life in all its light and darkness.
As an actor, there is no better challenge than to serve such a unique project that I have been passionate about for years, and I am thrilled to be working with this dream team of Steven Spielberg, Steven Zaillian and Amazon”.
People were wondering what Amazon’s strategy was after they cancelled a number of critically acclaimed shows and seemed to throw all their eggs into one basket with the expensive decision to move ahead with a large Lord Of The Rings prequel series, but Cortes should be something that interests viewers, especially as the shorter miniseries format becomes increasingly popular.
#Peace.Love.Cortes
