Executive Produced by Steven Spielberg, Steven Zaillian and Javier Bardem

Javier Bardem also set to star as Hernan Cortes, the rebellious conquistador who overthrew the Aztec empire for the Spanish crown

The Amblin Television series is written by Steven Zaillian and Dalton Trumbo

LONDON – 23 MARCH 2018 – Amazon Studios today announced it has greenlit a straight-to-series order of a four-hour miniseries based on the epic saga of Hernan Cortes. The series from three-time Academy Award-winner Steven Spielberg (The Post) and Amblin Television is created for television and written by Academy Award-winner Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List) and based on the screenplay by Dalton Trumbo (Roman Holiday). Emmy-winning Zaillian, Emmy-winning Darryl Frank (The Americans) and Emmy-nominated Justin Falvey (The Americans) are set to executive produce, and Academy Award-winner Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men) is set to star and executive produce.

Cortes reveals the legendary conqueror, Hernan Cortes, who led a 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. 

“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,” said Sharon Yguado, Head of Scripted Series, Amazon Studios. “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.” 

“We are so pleased that Amazon has given us the opportunity to bring this exciting 500 -year old story to the Prime Video members worldwide. It is a part of history that had such a significant impact and largely influenced modern day civilizations. With Javier as Cortes, we have the perfect star for this role, and we can’t wait to get started,” said Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, co-heads of Amblin Television.

“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 civilizations clash at the height of their reign,” said Javier Bardem. “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.”

Prime members will be able to stream Cortes exclusively via the Prime Video app for TVs, connected devices including Fire TV, mobile devices and online at Amazon.co.uk/Originals. Members can also download the series to mobile devices for offline viewing at no additional cost to their membership.

Customers who are not already Prime members can sign up for a free trial at Amazon.co.uk/Prime. For a list of all Prime Video compatible devices, visit www.amazon.com/howtostream.

Media contacts
Amazon Prime Video UK Press Office
AmazonPrimeVideo@theacademypr.com

Notes to Editors

About Amazon Video 
Amazon Video is a premium on-demand entertainment service that offers customers the greatest choice in what to watch, and how to watch it. Amazon Video is the only service that provides all the following:

  • Prime Video: Thousands of popular movies and TV episodes, to stream or download, including Prime Originals like Golden Globe winning The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Golden Globe winning Rachel Brosnahan;  Jean-Claude Van Johnson starring world-renowned actor and martial artist, Jean-Claude Van Damme; Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May’s The Grand Tour; American Gods, based on the award-winning novel by Neil Gaiman; Sneaky Pete, executive produced by Bryan Cranston; Goliath, starring Billy Bob Thornton; the multi-award-winning Transparent; Ridley Scott produced The Man in the High Castle and Sam Esmail’s MR. ROBOT starring Rami Malek. Plus, must-see films like Lion, Moonlight, Jackie and more. Prime Video is also available to customers in more than 240 countries and territories around the globe.
  • Amazon Channels: Allowing Prime members to add over 40 individual channel subscriptions including Discovery, Eurosport Player, hayu and others to their Prime Video viewing experience for an additional low monthly subscription fee, without the need to sign up for a bundle or enter a lengthy contract.
  • Rent or Own: Thousands of titles, including new-release movies and current TV shows available for on-demand rental or purchase for all Amazon customers.
  • Watch Anywhere: Instantly watch anytime, anywhere through the Amazon Video app on smart TVs or Apple TV, mobile devices and tablets, Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, and Fire tablets, on Xbox, PlayStation, Wii and Wii U, on the Amazon Prime Video app available on Google Play and through the web at www.amazon.co.uk/primevideo.
  • Premium Features: Top features like 4K Ultra HD, High Dynamic Range (HDR) and mobile downloads for offline viewing.


 

About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalised recommendations, Prime, Fulfilment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about.

About Amblin Television 
Amblin Television, a long-time leader in quality programming, is a division of Amblin Partners, a content creation company led by Steven Spielberg, with investment partners that include Participant Media, Reliance Entertainment, Entertainment One (eOne), Alibaba Pictures and Universal Pictures.  Amblin Television’s co-presidents, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, oversee all development, production and programming for the company. With the addition of “Cortes” for Amazon, Amblin Television currently has ten series in various stages of production including “Bull” for CBS, the Peabody Award-winning and Emmy-nominated drama "The Americans" for FX, the upcoming dramatic thriller “Reverie" for NBC, the adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s "The Haunting of Hill House” for Netflix, the Rev Run and Justine Simmons family sitcom for Netflix, “Amazing Stories” for Apple, “Animaniacs” for Hulu, “Days that Shaped America” for The History Channel, and “Cooper’s Treasure” for Discovery. Some of Amblin Television’s previous credits include the Emmy-nominated HBO movie "All The Way” starring Bryan Cranston, “Smash” for NBC, "Under the Dome” for CBS, "Falling Skies” for TNT, "The Borgias” and "The United States of Tara” for Showtime, and "Las Vegas” for NBC.

Source: Amazon.com, Inc.

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