The first official trailer for the film The Wizard of the Kremlin (“The Wizard of the Kremlin”), directed by Olivier Assayas, has been released, and new images show Jude Law’s stunning transformation into Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
The political drama follows Putin’s rise as a global actor with the help of manipulative strategist Vadim Baranov (played by Paul Dano), a character inspired by widely regarded Vladislav Surkov “gray eminence” of Russian politics, writes The Hollywood Reporter.
The trailer shows Baranov trying to convince Putin of his cynical approach to geopolitics, the aim being “sow chaos” and “to build the myth that the Russians control the modern world”.
While pre-release talk has largely focused on Law’s performance as a younger Putin — including a remarkably realistic wig — the film is actually more about Dano’s character, as the trailer images suggest. The cast also includes Alicia Vikander, Will Keen, Tom Sturridge and Jeffrey Wright.
Assayas signs the direction based on a script written together with Emmanuel Carrère, inspired by the book of the same name by Giuliano da Empoli.
The Wizard of the Kremlin (“The Wizard of the Kremlin”) premiered at the Venice Film Festival 2025, where it was warmly received. However, after the debut in Venice, the columnist of The Hollywood Reporter adopted a more reserved tone in the review.
“Assayas’ film moves swiftly, from the collapse of the USSR in the late 1980s to the 2014 invasion of Crimea, the director using a fluid and unpretentious style as he jumps between offices, hotels, mansions, forests and streets in Moscow, London and other capitals”he wrote. “But things tend to get muddled when the pace slows and it tries to create real drama or memorable characters, at which point The Wizard of the Kremlin feels stiff and overly explanatory, as if the actors are reciting lines from a totalitarian regime’s playbook.”
Vertical has acquired the North American distribution rights and plans to release the film in theaters on May 15. There is no official release date in Romania until now.
