Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Jude Law is set to play Vladimir Putin in Olivier Assayas’s next movie

Jude Law smirks and stares on Skeleton Crew.
Disney+

There have not been very many onscreen depictions of Vladimir Putin, perhaps in part because he is still Russia’s leader, and so the story of his reign is not yet over. In a recent interview with Deadline, though, Jude Law revealed that he’ll be playing the Russian leader during the first part of his governing career in Olivier Assayas’s new film, The Wizard of the Kremlin. 

“I say that hesitatingly because I haven’t really started work on it yet,” Law explained. “I mean, I have, but at the moment, it looks like an Everest to climb, so I’m in the foothills looking up thinking, ‘Oh Christ, what have I said?'”

Recommended Videos

Law continued by saying that he often feels intimidated by roles early on: “That’s often how I feel whilst I say yes. I was going, ‘Oh God, how am I going to do this?’ But anyway, that’s for me to sort out.”

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The news that Law had been cast in the film was first announced in the spring of 2024, but there was no word on who he would play at the time. The film is an adaptation of Giuliano da Empoli’s novel of the same name and follows a young filmmaker who unexpectedly becomes an advisor to Putin as Putin rises through the ranks of the Russian government.

In addition to Law, the film will also star Zach Galafanakis, Alicia Vikander, and Tom Sturridge. We have no word yet on when the film might be released, but based on Law’s comments, it sounds like the film is still in fairly early stages.

Joe Allen
Joe Allen is a freelance writer at Digital Trends, where he covers Movies and TV. He frequently writes streaming…
Tom Cruise hangs upside down from a biplane in latest Mission: Impossible 8 stunt
Tom Cruise sits on a plane.

Tom Cruise risks his life in the latest stunt for Mission: Impossible 8. In other news, the sky is blue, and the grass is green.

As Hollywood's biggest movie star, Cruise has made his bones by executing several of the most jaw-dropping stunts in cinema's illustrious history. In the last decade, Cruise has performed a halo jump in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, piloted multiple aircraft in Top Gun: Maverick, and rode a motorcycle off a cliff in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning.
For his next trick, Cruise will hang upside down from a biplane in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. In footage shared on Cruise's social media, the 62-year-old is hanging off a biplane as director Christopher McQuarrie watches the footage from a monitor. The stunt will likely be featured in Mission: Impossible 8's next trailer, with a rumored release during Super Bowl LIX.
https://twitter.com/TomCruise/status/1887924395093676166

Read more
The 50 best shows on Netflix in February 2025
Mo Amer in Mo.

After back-to-back weeks of action premieres with The Night Agent season 2 and The Recruit season 2, Netflix is settling down for the Super Bowl weekend. But that doesn't mean the No. 1 streamer doesn't have new programming to share. In fact, Mo — back for its second season — is a dramedy that has such glowing reviews it may be in Emmy contention later this year.
The other new arrival is Cassandra, a German sci-fi series that kind of crept up on us out of nowhere, much like the title character. This is one of the fringe benefits of Netflix's international approach to shows, as series produced for other countries occasionally break out among the most popular shows on Netflix.
You can find these series and more below among the best shows on Netflix. We update this list every Friday to give you the best streaming options for your weekend viewing.

We’ve also rounded up all the best new shows to stream this week, the best movies on Netflix, the best shows on Hulu, the best shows on Amazon Prime, and the best shows on Disney+ because we take our streaming seriously. Watching while traveling abroad? Use a Netflix VPN to access your country's catalog from anywhere in the world.
New this week
Mo

Read more
Best new movies to stream on Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Max (HBO), and more
Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield in We Live In Time.

Every week, our list of the best movies to stream on Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Max (HBO), and other services gets a little better, and the first week of February is no exception. Four streamers add quality new releases this week, and although none is quite at the Gladiator 2 blockbuster level, there are several anticipated arrivals.

This week, Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh's drama We Live In Time lands on Max, Amy Schumer's comedy Kinda Pregnant hits Netflix, Peacock adds the LEGO - Pharrell Williams collaboration, Piece by Piece, and more.
We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.

Read more