Steven Spielberg and Javier Bardem team up for Amazon series

Amazon has ordered a four-hour drama about Hernan Cortes and the conquest of the Aztec civilisation that pulls together the collective talents of Steven Spielberg, actor Javier Bardem and Schindler’s List writer Steve Zaillian.

Cortes is based on an unfilmed screenplay by the late Hollywood writer Dalton Trumbo, originally planned as the follow-up to his 1960 movie Spartacus, with Kirk Douglas set to star.

Spielberg has been developing the project since 2014, initially envisaging it as a movie with the working title Montezuma, to be made through DreamWorks, with Bardem and Zaillian attached.

The Amazon series will be produced by the increasingly prolific Amblin Television. The TV spin-off of Spielberg’s film company Amblin Entertainment now has ten series in production, including the adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and the Reverend Run and Justine Simmons family sitcom for Netflix, and the rebooted Amazing Stories anthology series for Apple.

Amblin Television’s co-presidents, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, oversee all development, production and programming for the company and will exec produce Cortes, alongside Spielberg, Zailian and Bardem, who will star in the title role.

The series tells the story of Cortes’ rebellious expedition to the heart of King Montezuma II’s Aztec empire, connecting two civilizations for the first time and changing the course of history.

Amblin Television is a division of Spielberg’s Amblin Partners, which has investment partners including Participant Media, Reliance Entertainment, eOne, Alibaba Pictures and Universal Pictures.

Amazon Studios head of scripted series Sharon Yguado said: “Cortes’ epic discoveries shaped the world as we know it today, and through the minds of Amblin, Steven Spielberg, Steve Zaillian and Javier Bardem, we will bring Prime Video members on an exhilarating journey. There are few moments in history that shape an entire culture such as Cortes’ story, and this series will be one filled with drama and adventure.”