Johnny Depp is set to produce and possibly star in the first-ever English-language film adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s Russian literature classic “The Master and Margarita.”
The project, which currently does not have a director attached, is being produced by Depp’s own
IN.2 Film shingle in tandem with “Jeanne du Barry” executive producer Svetlana Dali and Grace Loh.
Dali and Loh will produce with Depp, Stephen Deuters and Stephen Malit. The project was announced at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival as part of its Red Sea Souk market, where Depp and the producers made a surprise appearance on Wednesday. The Red Sea Fund partly financed Depp’s 2023 film “Jeanne du Barry.” They are not involved in the financing of this project.
Production on “The Master and Margarita” is expected to start in late 2026.
Dali and Loh have been engaged in a legal battle with sales agent Luminosity Pictures over a recent Russian-language adaptation of the celebrated Soviet novel, directed by Michael Lockshin, which has been a hit in Russia and released in continental Europe, but not the U.S and U.K. In the dispute, Dali and Loh claimed to have exclusive legitimate ownership of the rights to the novel.
Bulgakov’s novel, which was published posthumously in the 1960s and is widely considered one of the great works of 20th-century literature, has never been adapted for the big screen in English despite attempts made by Roman Polanski, Federico Fellini, Terry Gilliam and Baz Luhrmann, among other filmmakers.
“Set between 1930s Moscow, where the devil returns with his talking cat to cause havoc amongst its corrupt citizens, and Jerusalem during the time of Pontius Pilate, ‘The Master and Margarita’ tells a fantastical, satirical tale of love, artistic freedom and the eternal battle of good versus evil,” the synopsis for Depp’s film says. “A third intertwined story follows a struggling writer and his lover, Margarita, who is willing to do anything to save him from the totalitarian system. What follows is a darkly comic, wildly imaginative tale of inexhaustible energy, philosophical depth, and spiritual rebellion — a work that remains ferociously relevant today and a timeless reminder of art’s power to challenge, illuminate and endure.”
Courtesy DDA
The “Master and Margarita” project continues Dali’s collaboration with Depp’s IN.2 following her executive producer roles on the Depp-led and Red Sea-backed “Jeanne du Barry” (2023), as well as his directorial effort “Modì: Three Days on the Wing of Madness” (2024). Natasha Rogal also produces, with Robert MacLean producing for Tribune Pictures. Executive producers on “Master and Margarita” include Nevin Shalit, Andrew Fourman, World Visions’ Konstantin Elkin, Tribune Pictures’ Michael Paletta and the late Michael Lang.
Depp is poised to make a comeback in Hollywood after his court battles following allegations of domestic abuse by his ex-wife Amber Heard. In addition to “The Master and Margarita,” he’s in final talks to play Ebenezer Scrooge in Paramount Pictures’ dark film adaptation of “A Christmas Carol” directed by Ti West, and is attached to star with Penélope Cruz in Lionsgate’s upcoming action thriller “Day Drinker” from Marc Webb. These projects mark Depp’s first roles from a major studio since 2018’s “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.”
Depp is represented by Jack Whigham at Range Media.
