Olivier Assayas’ ‘The Wizard of the Kremlin’ to Star Alicia Vikander, Paul Dano, Zach Galafanakis and Jude Law

The always unpredictable Olivier Assayas is the filmmaker behind “Irma Vep,” “Personal Shopper,” “Carlos,” and “Summer Hours,”

Assayas released his impressive “Irma Vep” TV series in 2022. He also premiered a new film (“Hors de Temps”) at this past March’s Berlin Film Festival. Before that, his last two films (“Non-Fiction” and “Wasp Network”) were critical disappointments. Here’s hoping he gets back on track with this latest project.

It’s been announced that Assayas’ next film will be political thriller “The Wizard of the Kremlin,” based on Giuliano da Empoli’s bestseller. ‘Wizard’ will be co-written by Assayas and Emmanuel Carrère, whose novel “Limonov” has been adapted for the big screen by Kirill Serebrennikov, and will premiere in Cannes competition tomorrow.

The cast assembled for ‘Wizard’ will include some big-named English-speaking actors, including Paul Dano, Alicia Vikander, Jude Law, Zach Galifianakis and Tom Sturridge.

The story might, or might not, be about the rise of Vladmir Putin in Russia. Spanning the early ‘90’s and early aughts, the novel begins in the aftermath of the USSR’s collapse as a young artist-turned-TV producer, Vadim Baranov, shadow puppets a promising member of the KGB, Putin, into prominent positions of government.

In his director’s note, Assayas compares ‘Wizard’ to his extraordinary 2010 mini-series “Carlos.” If it turns out half as good as that one, then we’re in for a real treat.