Amazon scraps Javier Bardem-starrer 'Cortes y Moctezuma'

"We have nothing but admiration and respect for Javier, Tenoch, Yoshira, Gael, Diego, Steve Zaillian, and the entire cast and crew of the series and hope we can work together again in the future," the studio said. "Cortes y Moctezuma" had been a passion project of Spielberg's for years and was originally intended to be a feature.

Amazon has announced that production on Javier Bardem-starrer series "Cortes y Moctezuma" will not be resuming as the show has been cancelled. The epic four-hour miniseries, touted as the largest Spanish-language production of all time, was a joint production between Amazon and Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners.

Written by Oscar-winning scribe Steven Zailian, "Cortes y Moctezuma" was executive produced by Mexican actors Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna. According to Deadline, the Spanish-language show was two weeks into filming in Mexico when it was shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement, Amazon said the show was axed due to "production constraints" created by the COVID-19 global pandemic. "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. "We have nothing but admiration and respect for Javier, Tenoch, Yoshira, Gael, Diego, Steve Zaillian, and the entire cast and crew of the series and hope we can work together again in the future," the studio said.

"Cortes y Moctezuma" had been a passion project of Spielberg's for years and was originally intended to be a feature. It was based on an unproduced screenplay by the late Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. Amazon had ordered the miniseries in 2018 as the streamer opted for more big-budget event series..