Johnny Depp is gearing up for a seriously ambitious literary leap with plans to produce and potentially star in the first English language film adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel The Master and Margarita. For fans of classic literature, surreal fantasy and Depp’s unpredictable creative streak, this one to look out for.
The film is being produced through Depp’s IN.2 Film banner alongside Svetlana Dali and Grace Loh, who joined Depp onstage during a surprise appearance at the Red Sea Film Festival’s Red Sea Souk market where the project was officially unveiled.
IN.2’s Stephen Deuters and Stephen Malit will also produce, and production is aiming for a late 2026 start.
Dali and Loh’s journey to get here has been complicated. The two have been locked in a legal dispute with sales agent Luminosity Pictures over the recent Russian language adaptation from director Michael Lockshin.
That version became a hit across Russia and continental Europe but has yet to reach the US and UK. Dali and Loh maintain they hold the legitimate exclusive rights to Bulgakov’s novel.
Published posthumously in the 1960s, Bulgakov’s book remains one of the most celebrated works of twentieth century fiction. An English language feature film has never made it across the finish line despite attempts from filmmakers like Roman Polanski, Federico Fellini, Terry Gilliam and Baz Luhrmann. Depp’s team believes now is finally the time to bring this surreal epic to a global audience.
The story is “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.
“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.”
For Depp, this marks another interesting step in what looks like a steady creative resurgence following his very public legal battles with Amber Heard. Along with The Master and Margarita, he is taking on the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in Paramount’s dark new take on A Christmas Carol from Ti West and is attached to star alongside Penélope Cruz in Lionsgate’s action thriller Day Drinker from Marc Webb.
If everything lines up, these will be Depp’s first studio backed roles since Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald in 2018.
A timeless novel, a sprawling supernatural narrative, and Johnny Depp stepping back into ambitious storytelling territory all make this adaptation one to keep a close eye on as it moves toward its 2026 production start.
