John Le Carre’s classic 1960s-set novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, is getting the remake treatment from AMC and the BBC, following their hugely successful, Golden Globe-winning The Night Manager.
Academy Award winner Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) is adapting the source material. Here’s the official book synopsis:
Alex Leamas is tired. It’s the 1960s, he’s been out in the cold for years, spying in the shadow of the Berlin Wall for his British masters. He has seen too many good agents murdered for their troubles. Now Control wants to bring him in at last – but only after one final assignment. He must travel deep into the heart of Communist Germany and betray his country, a job that he will do with his usual cynical professionalism. But when George Smiley tries to help a young woman Leamas has befriended, Leamas’s mission may prove to be the worst thing he could ever have done. In le Carré’s breakthrough work of 1963, the spy story is reborn as a gritty and terrible tale of men who are caught up in politics beyond their imagining.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold was originally published back in 1963, and was turned into a film two years later, starring Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, and Oskar Werner.
“I’m very excited by the project, and have great confidence in the team,” said John le Carré of the new project, which will be released 55 years after the publication of his book.
Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama said, “Following the huge global success of ‘The Night Manager,’ it’s a privilege to announce that John Le Carré will return to BBC One with one of the best spy thrillers ever written. Adapted by Simon Beaufoy, ‘The Spy Who Came In From The Cold’ is utterly timely in its evocation of the Cold War period and we are thrilled to be working with The Ink Factory and AMC again to bring this seminal novel to the screen for another unmissable drama series on BBC One.”
“It’s incredibly exciting to be working on the best Cold War spy story ever written,” said writer Simon Beaufoy.
More on the project as it comes our way.
