Antonio Banderas to Star as Cortés in AI-Enabled Epic From Utopai

Antonio Banderas will star as Hernán Cortés in "Cortés," an AI-enabled historical epic now shooting in Paris for Utopai Studios and Ex Machina Studios. The feature, directed by Paul Mignot and written by Oscar nominee Nicholas Kazan, is one of the first titles to emerge from Utopai's rebrand last year as a full entertainment studio.

The story begins in 1519 on the coast of what is now Mexico. Banderas plays a glory-hungry soldier who leads an expedition to the Yucatán and, after landing, encounters Marina — an enslaved Indigenous woman and gifted linguist who becomes central to his advance. The film's logline states that, 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."

What is the production model behind the film?

"Cortés" is a co-production between Utopai and Ex Machina, a new company built around the "ethical, artist-first integration of artificial intelligence." Both studios will co-finance the feature. Utopai leads sales and distribution in the United States, Canada, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Ex Machina handles most of Europe, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand.

Who is making the film?

Mignot, whose "Vaincre ou mourir" premiered in 2023, directs. Kazan, nominated for an Academy Award for "Reversal of Fortune" (1990), wrote the screenplay. Production designer Kirk Petruccelli was originally attached to make his directorial debut on the project before Mignot took over.

For Utopai, the casting closes a loop the company opened when it unveiled a slate of AI-generated and AI-assisted features. "Cortés is exactly why we built Utopai Studios," co-founder and CEO Cecilia Shen said in a statement. "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."

Why does an AI studio matter here?

Banderas becomes the latest Hollywood veteran to attach his name to an AI-focused production company, a sign of mainstream legitimacy as the industry continues to debate AI's role in production pipelines. Marco Weber, CEO and co-founder of Ex Machina, a former co-CEO of Utopai and a producer on "Cortés," framed the collaboration in auteurist terms. "A historical epic works best if you believe the people at the center of it," Weber said. "Antonio gives us a Cortés who can be commanding, complicated and deeply human, while Paul has a clear vision for the brilliant screenplay that Nick wrote. I couldn't be more excited about the exceptional team we have put together and to bring the elements together for some breathtaking world-building in a film that feels both epic and intimate."

What else is on Utopai's slate?

"Cortés" is one of three Utopai features targeting release next year. The company is developing an AI-assisted animated adaptation of "The Most Serious Fart," a 2023 children's book by "Not Another Teen Movie" screenwriter Mike Bender. It also partnered with Chinese production company Huace on a fully AI-generated origin story based on the 1592 mythological text "Journey to the West: The Lost Five Hundred Years." A live-action feature, "Half Moon," rounds out the announced slate.

Banderas most recently appeared as José Vatel, Anthony Bourdain's mentor, in A24's "Tony." He is represented by NuCo Media Group and Greenberg Glusker.

The pairing of a two-time Oscar nominee with a rebrand-stage AI studio signals how quickly generative tooling is moving from ancillary pipelines to the center of name-driven historical drama.