Antonio Banderas has signed on to star as Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés in Cortés, a feature film directed by French filmmaker Paul Mignot from a screenplay by Nicholas Kazan.
Production is already underway in Paris, with additional shooting scheduled in Spain.
Utopai Studios and Ex Machina Studios are partnering on the project. Marco Weber is producing. Utopai Studios will lead sales and distribution in the United States, Canada, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Ex Machina Studios will lead sales and distribution across most of Europe, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand.
The film’s synopsis reads: Set in 1519, Cortés begins in Cuba, where a restless soldier hungry for glory seizes command of an expedition to the Yucatán and sails without permission. After landing on the coast of what is now Mexico, he meets Marina, an enslaved Indigenous woman and gifted linguist who becomes indispensable to his advance. As Cortés turns fragile alliances, faith, and fear into instruments of conquest, Marina watches him transform from a daring outlaw into a self-anointed messiah.
“Cortés is exactly why we built Utopai Studios,” said Cecilia Shen, Co-Founder and CEO of Utopai Studios. “Our job is to build the production around that vision. Nicholas has written an extraordinary screenplay, Paul has a clear cinematic point of view, and Antonio brings the humanity needed at the center of it. We want to give them the ability to make the film they set out to make.”
Mignot’s previous credits include the historical feature Vaincre ou Mourir. He has also directed campaigns for BMW, Porsche, Audi, Lexus, Jeep, L’Oréal, Louis Vuitton, and Emporio Armani.
Kazan received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for his adapted screenplay for Reversal of Fortune. His screenwriting credits also include Frances, Patty Hearst, Matilda, Fallen, and Bicentennial Man.