Adaptations
Azazel was filmed for television in 2003 by Alexander Adabashyan, and has also been adapted for the stage in Russia. Reviews of the play have not been very favorable and have called it long, windy, talky and situational, or entertaining but plodding.
In 2005, two further Fandorin novels, The Turkish Gambit and The Councillor of State, were made into big-budget movies by Dzhanik Faiziyev and Filip Yankovsky respectively. The adaptation of The Turkish Gambit set a new box office record in Russia of 19.23 million USD, beating The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King by more than 5 million USD. It was met by criticism from the Russian military, who said the film stains the memory of general Mikhail Skobelev. The Turkish Gambit won three Golden Eagle Awards (best art design, best costume design and best film editing), while The Councillor of State won two awards (best leading actor for Nikita Mikhalkov and best supporting actor for Konstantin Khabensky).
Ying and Yan has also been performed on stage in Russia, with both versions performed back-to-back on two consecutive days. They met with critical acclaim. Prior to September 2006, all Erast Fandorin films, plays and television programs have been made in Russian only.
The Winter Queen has also been adapted as a graphic novel by Aleksey Kuzmichev.
Paul Verhoeven owns the rights to a future English-language film version of The Winter Queen. Filming was scheduled to start in July 2007, with Milla Jovovich as the female lead actress, but was postponed due to Jovovich's pregnancy. The film has been rescheduled for 2010, with Jovovich, Anton Yelchin cast as Erast Fandorin, and Russian director Fyodor Bondarchuk replacing Verhoeven, who is producing.
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