Hollywood is cutting depictions of Putin out of movies for fear of Russian 'retaliation'

Russian President Vladmir Putin.
(Image credit: Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Hollywood is shying away from portraying Russian President Vladimir Putin in upcoming movies, apparently for fear of retribution. The Hollywood Reporter revealed Wednesday that Putin portrayals were cut from Fox's Red Sparrow and EuropaCorp's Kursk, even though Putin appeared in both of the books on which the respective movies are based.

Fox cited "creative choices" for cutting Putin — who played a "key role" in the book — out of Red Sparrow, which is set in the present day and centers around a Russian spy played by Jennifer Lawrence. The Hollywood Reporter noted that "by avoiding Putin, Fox is also steering clear of any Russian hackers who might protest."

"For a studio to release a movie about Putin that makes him look like a fool would be suicide," said Ajay Arora, CEO of Vera, a security firm that works with studios. "That's a certain way to be targeted [for retaliation]."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Read more at The Hollywood Reporter.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us