Woland (film)

Woland is an upcoming film based on Mikhail Bulgakov's novel '' The Master and Margarita''.

Release is currently scheduled for May 2023.

Premise

Moscow, 1930s.

A prominent writer in Moscow, finds himself at the center of a literary scandal. His works are censored by the Soviet state and are no longer being staged in the theater. His colleagues actively avoid him, and in days he turns into an outcast, kicked out of the writer's union and with no means to survive.

Soon afterwards he meets Margarita, a lonely married woman. Revived by her love and support, the writer begins working on a new novel, where all the characters are people he has met in real life. The protagonist of the book is Woland - a mystical dark force who visits Moscow to wreck havoc and take revenge on all those who helped cause the writer's downfall. The writer's inspiration for Woland is a chance foreign traveler to the Soviet Union whom he recently met.

As the Master sinks himself deeper and deeper into his work, and the state around him becomes evermore totalitarian - he gradually stops noticing as the border between reality and his imagination begins to fade.

Cast

Main cast

* August Diehl as '' Woland'', the Devil who visits to Moscow
* Yevgeny Tsyganov as ''Тhe Master'', a writer desperate to survive
* Yuliya Snigir as '' Margarita'', the Master's lover
* Yuri Kolokolnikov as '' Korovyev'', Woland's right-hand man
* Aleksey Rozin as '' Azazello'', a sharpshooter in Woland's suite
* Polina Aug as ''Hella'', a vampire in Woland's suite
''Behemoth'' will be created using CGI, while his "reality" version will be played by a Maine Coon named Kyesha. His voice is as of November 16, 2021, unknown.

Secondary roles

* Leonid Yarmolnik as ''Doctor Stravinsky'', director of the insane asylum
* Igor Vernik as ''Bengalsky'', one of the guests at Woland's show of black magic
* Marat Basharov as ''Likhodeyev'', director of the Théâtre des Variétés
* Aleksei Guskov as ''Baron Maigel'', the sacrifice
* Yevgeny Knyazev as ''Berlioz'', director of the organization MASSOLIT (Mass Socialist Literature) and Homeless' acquaintance
* Danil Steklov as poet ''Bezdomny (Homeless)'', a naive young poet that Woland first meets in Moscow,
* Aleksandr Yatsenko as ''Aloisy Mogarych'', a journalist friend of the Writer
* Dmitriy Lysenkov as ''Latunsky'', one of the critics who destroys the Writer's career
* Pavel Vorozhtsov as ''Varenukha'', administrator of the Variety Theater
* Valery Kukhareshin as ''Rimsky'', financial director of the Variety Theater

Production

In 2018, the film was announced as being in production, with 3 major Russian producers helming the project: Ruben Dishdishyan, Igor Tolstunov, and Leonard Blavatnik. Russian film director Nikolai Lebedev was set to direct. By 2020, however, the project still had not taken off. At some point in the project, Lebedev had left the project.

Instead, Michael Lockshin, director of ''The Silver Skates'' co-wrote a new script with Roman Kantor in 2020 and directed the film in 2021.

In July 2021, August Diehl was confirmed to join the film as Woland.

Filming began in July 2021 in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Malta, and concluded in October 2021.

Mars Media announced that the film would be released on January 1, 2023, with Universal Pictures acting as distributor. However, due to production delays, it was later announced the film was planned for release in May 2023.

In August 2022, it was announced that the film was stuck in post-production, due to Universal Pictures leaving Russia over the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the governmental body Cinema Foundation of Russia refusing to provide further funding for the film.

References

External links

*
{{The Master and Margarita
Upcoming films
2023 fantasy films
2023 drama films
Films based on The Master and Margarita
Upcoming Russian-language films
Film productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Films set in Moscow
Russian fantasy films
Russian fantasy drama films