Overview

• Deadline released the first footage showing Paul Dano as Vadim Baranov, a fictional adviser inspired by political strategist Vladislav Surkov.
• The film dramatizes Putin’s early rise through an adaptation of Giuliano da Empoli’s 2022 novel, co-written by Assayas with Emmanuel Carrère.
• Assayas says historians, journalists and witnesses reviewed the project, with some names altered for legal reasons to balance accuracy with dramatization.
• Production took place entirely in Latvia due to the inability to film in Russia, drawing on local Russian-speaking talent to help authenticate language and settings.
• The ensemble features Alicia Vikander as Ksenia and Will Keen as Boris Berezovsky, with Jeffrey Wright and Tom Sturridge also appearing, and Gaumont handling distribution and international sales.