British actor Jude Law will portray Putin in the film "Kremlin Wizard."

The work of French director on the adaptation of the novel by Giuliano da Empoli became known in mid-May, as reported by Variety magazine.

The film will depict the beginning of Putin's political career from the perspective of a political technologist who began collaborating with a "promising FSB employee" following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Assayas compares the upcoming film to his mini-series "Carlos" about the terrorist Ilich Ramírez Sánchez and the spy film "Miami Affair" regarding the Cuban spy network in the USA.

This is an adaptation of the novel by Italian writer Giuliano da Empoli, Le mage du Kremlin.

The book discusses the period of "young" Putin, his rise to power, and the metamorphoses through significant political events such as the Second Chechen War, the sinking of the "Kursk," "Nord-Ost," the Orange Revolution, and up to the invasion of Ukraine.

The events are described from the viewpoint of a fictional character who, however, embodies all the traits of Putin's closest advisor, Vladislav Surkov – the architect of the annexation of Crimea and the capture of Donbas.

"During the research for my previous work ‘Engineers of Chaos’, da Empoli became acquainted with the figure of Vladislav Surkov, to whom he wanted to dedicate the novel. 'He is so romantic that he pushed me to become a novelist,'” explains the author, who also admits that he has never met Surkov in person.

Jude Law told Deadline magazine that he has not yet started working on his role:

"Right now, it feels like I'm standing at the foot of Everest, looking up and thinking, 'God, why did I agree to this?'

The film will also feature Alicia Vikander, Paul Dano, Zach Galifianakis, and Tom Sturridge. Filming is set to begin in January.

Da Empoli's novel reached the finals of the prestigious Goncourt literary prize and received the Grand Prix for a novel from the French Academy.

In September, a play based on "The Kremlin Magician" was staged in the capital of France, directed by Roland Oze.