- The BBC and MGM+ have greenlit a brand new adaptation of John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came In From The Cold starring Charlie Hunnam, Matthew Macfadyen, and Daniel Brühl.
- Titled A Legacy of Spies – named after le Carré’s 2017 follow-up novel of the same name – production is slated to begin early next year.
- A Legacy of Spies release date: TBA.
The Night Manager won’t be the only John le Carré novel returning to the cultural foreground next year, as the BBC and MGM+ announce a brand new adaptation of the late author’s best-selling The Spy Who Came In From The Cold – which will also draw upon additional material from the 2017 literary continuation A Legacy of Spies (the latter of which the forthcoming series derives its name).
The second major screen adaptation of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold – after the 1965 film of the same name starring Richard Burton – has been penned by Stephen Cornwell (Message from the King, A Most Wanted Man, Unknown) alongside Clarissa Ingram; and currently features a veritable who’s who of European acting talent.
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The cast is “anchored” by the Emmy and BAFTA-winning Matthew Macfadyen of Pride & Prejudice and Succession fame as spymaster George Smiley and Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy, The Gentlemen, Monster) as British intelligence officer Alec Leamas. Daniel Brühl (Inglorious Basterds, Rush, All Quiet on the Western Front) has also signed on to portray East German spy Jens Fielder, while Devrim Lingnau Islamoğlu (The Empress) is appearing as Doris Quinz AKA Agent Tulip.
As per the BBC: “The series begins in the shadow of the newly-erected Berlin Wall, as Alec Leamas (Hunnam) watches his last agent shot dead by East German sentries. For Leamas, a senior British intelligence officer in Berlin, the Cold War is over. As he faces the prospect of retirement or worse – a desk job – Control offers him a unique opportunity for revenge.”
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“Assuming the guise of an embittered and dissolute ex-agent, Leamas is set up to trap Mundt, the deputy director of the East German Intelligence Service, with himself as the bait. In the background is George Smiley (Macfayden), ready to make the game play out just as Control wants.”
The BBC and MGM+’s Legacy of Spies is being produced by The Ink Factory – the award-winning team who retain the rights to John le Carré’s works, and notably delivered The Night Manager – in collaboration with Amusement Park Film (All Quiet on the Western Front), as well as 127 Wall Productions and Paramount Television Studios. Cameras are scheduled to begin rolling in early 2026 with the view of premiering later that same year/early 2027.
Keep an eye out here for potential updates on Legacy of Spies (release date, further casting, trailer, etc.).
