By Baz Luhrmann has dropped out of the long-in-the-works English-language adaptation of Bulgakov’s 20th-century Russian novel “The Master and Margarita” reports Variety.
Penned in the Soviet Union in the 1930s but published decades later, the fantastical Faustian story has the Devil visiting the Soviet Union and includes elements of satire, Christianity, comedy and the supernatural.
Luhrmann was first linked to develop the project back in 2019 but wasn’t committed to directing it. Since then he worked on his “Elvis” biopic and recut “Australia” into the series “Faraway Downs”.
Luhrmann has reportedly now stepped back from the project entirely due to concerns over the book rights, even as a source tells the trade there is no confusion over the rights.
Dozens of filmmakers have tried and failed to make a screen adaptation of the work over the years including the likes of Federico Fellini, Roman Polanski and Terry Gilliam. A Russian adaptation did hit screens in January and was a box office hit despite a backlash from the Kremlin.
The trade says Luhrmann, who has long been a fan of the book, has “not given up on returning to the adaptation some day”.
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