Amazon scraps Javier Bardem-led Cortés y Moctezuma limited series due to coronavirus

Deadline

The epic four-hour miniseries starring Oscar winner Bardem as Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes and executive produced by Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna and Steven Spielberg was two weeks into filming in Mexico when it was shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic. Written by Oscar winner Steve Zaillian, Cortés y Moctezuma was the largest Spanish-language production of all time. “Due to the production constraints created by the COVID-19 global pandemic, Amazon Studios and Amblin Partners are unable to move forward with production on our Cortés y Moctezuma series,” the two companies said in a statement. “In the current climate, there is unfortunately no way to remount the production in the near future to achieve the scale and scope that was intended and that the series deserves." As Deadline's Nellie Andreeva notes, Cortés y Moctezuma has been a passion project for Steven Spielberg’s Amblin, which originally planned it as a movie in 2014. She adds: "Given the long history, I hear the company may try to revive the idea again in the future. Because it was shot out of sequence, I hear the completed footage could not be turned into a cohesive special or movie. Cortes y Moctezuma was a priority project for Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke who visited Mexico City in late February to tour the elaborate sets and attend a table read."