New US Trailer for ‘The Master and Margarita’ Film Feat. August Diehl

by Alex Billington
July 30, 2026
Source: YouTube

“All power is violence against people.” Luminosity Pictures has revealed their new official US trailer for the movie The Master and Margarita, a big new cinematic adaptation of the iconic Russian book by Mikhail Bulgakov. This story has been adapted many times before, but this version was finished and first released in Russia in 2024. However, just like in the book, the Russian government also tried to censor it as well. After follow-up theatrical releases in Germany, Sweden, and Italy last year, The Master and Margarita is finally reaching American audiences. A writer’s novel is banned and his play canceled. He then conceives a satirical novel where a devil-like character metaphorically revenges those responsible – wreaking havoc upon the corrupt bureaucrats who have done him wrong. Knowing it cannot be published, his muse Margarita pushes him to write it anyway. This international adaptation stars August Diehl as Woland the Devil, Claes Bang as Pontius Pilate, Yevgeny Tsyganov as the Master, Yuliya Snigir as Margarita, Yuri Kolokolnikov as Korovyev, and many others in the cast. This final version has been restored as the “director’s cut” for release in the US this fall. This is a properly epic trailer that might just make a few of you want to watch this movie.

Here’s the official US trailer for Michael Lockshin’s film The Master and Margarita, from YouTube:

“Bulgakov’s novel juggles genres and storylines – it’s very funny, deeply philosophical and emotional. There’s a lot going on in it, and finding the key to the adaptation, and seeing how audiences have responded – both fans of the novel and those who were discovering it for the first time – has been a true honor and joy that made this tumultuous journey worth it. When we started working on the film, we couldn’t have foreseen that a story about censorship & standing up for truth set in the 1930s would turn out to be so much about the present – in Russia & beyond it. I’m very grateful to the people who came on board and pushed forward to get this film out despite the geopolitical and legal issues.” –Director Michael Lockshin

Based on the seminal Soviet novel from Kyiv-born author Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita intertwines the novel’s multiple storylines with the writer’s own biography. It tells the story of a writer in 1930s Moscow who after being censored by the state, instead writes a new novel where the Devil arrives to wreak havoc onto the corrupt bureaucrats who have done him wrong. The novel and film’s subject matter has stark parallels to the modern-day Kremlin’s removal of scenes deemed too critical and even Lockshin’s name during its Russian release. The director’s cut release from Luminosity Pictures restores the film to the version originally intended by Lockshin. The Master and Margarita movie, originally known as Мастер и Маргарита in Russian, is directed by Russian-American filmmaker Michael Lockshin, director of the film Silver Skates previously, plus a few other short films. The screenplay is written by Roman Kantor and Michael Lockshin. Adapted from the novel “The Master and Margarita” by Mikhail Bulgakov first published in 1967. Produced by Ruben Dishdishyan, Leonard Blavatnik, and Anatoly Akimenko. This initially opened in Russia back in early 2024 along with other countries. Luminosity Pictures is releasing Lockshin’s The Master and Margarita final version in US theaters starting on September 18th, 2026. Who’s interested?

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