Martin Scorsese is continuing his long relationship with HBO. The Oscar winner is adding his name to Cortes, a new project from Mississippi Burning writer Chris Gerolmo. Actor Benicio del Toro is already on to executive produce.
The project will tell the story of Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes, who conquered the Aztec empire, and Malinche, a Mayan girl who helped him out. Montezuma will also play a key role in the series.
According to Deadline, which first reported the news, Del Toro is interested in playing Cortes, but there’s no deal in place for that.
The Oscar winner would be the latest in a long line of movie stars jumping to TV. Del Toro also played other Latin American historical figures, starring in Steven Soderbergh’s Che and recently filming Escobar: Paradise Lost. He was also seen in Guardians of the Galaxy in a supporting part.
This is actually the third Scorsese-helmed project in the works for HBO. Work is well under way for his rock ‘n’ roll pilot, which is being co-produced by Mick Jagger and is still untitled. There was also news back in August that the Departed filmmaker is working on a Shutter Island prequel series.
Of course, Scorsese’s first HBO series was Boardwalk Empire, which recently ended its run.
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