The Walt Disney Company CIS — the Russian division of Disney — is teaming up with Russian studio Yellow, Black & White to produce a new a new comedic film titled Posledny Bogatyr which translates to “The Last Knight” or “The Last Hero.” According to Russia Beyond the Headlines, Disney Russia’s general director Marina Zhigalova-Ozkan said, “For us this is a strategic project. We want to continue the tradition of adapting Russian tales for the screen, which was introduced by famous directors Alexander Rou and Alexander Ptushko.”
From RBTH:
The film is about Ivan, the winner of a TV show about wizards and psychics, who travels from the present day to the “universe of Russian tales,” where he is received as a descendent of bogatyr Ilya Muromets, a character from Russian folktales. Dmitry Dyachenko will direct the picture and all the actors will be Russian.
Production will start in May 2016 and the companies will participate in the project on an equal basis. The partners are also discussing the possibility of releasing the film in IMAX format.
Disney’s last Russian produced film, titled The Book of Masters, was released in 2009. Made for $8 million, it earned $10.8 in theatres.
