John Le Carre novels have always been ripe for Hollywood adaptation.  Anton Corbijn (The American) is working on an adaptation of A Most Wanted Man, and a couple years ago we got Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which sadly was a bit of a disappointment.  Hopefully, director Justin Kurzel (The Snowtown Murders) will have more success with his adaptation of Le Carre’s Our Kind of Traitor.  The adaptation is moving in the right direction with Ralph Fiennes and Mads Mikkelsen signing on to co-star.

Per Screen daily, “Ewan McGregor will star in the international spy thriller as one half of a couple who gets mixed up with a Russian oligarch and major money launderer (Mikkelsen). Caught up in his plans to defect, they are soon positioned between the Russian Mafia and the British Secret Service.”  Fiennes will play U.K. government fixer Hector Meredith.  Jessica Chastain was rumored for the female lead back in November, but it looks like she has passed, and casting for the role is still underway.  Filming is set to begin this summer.  Hit the jump for an update on the adaptation of Le Carre’s Smiley’s People, and click here for Steve’s interview with producer Eric Fellner.

Director Tomas Alfredson’s adaptation of the John le Carre spy novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was a bit of a surprise success last year, grossing over $80 million against a relatively small budget and earning Gary Oldman his first ever Oscar nomination for Best Actor.  Given le Carre’s numerous novels, Alfredson and the folks at Working Title began to mull over the possibility of adapting another one of the books for a sequel, but movement on that front has been relatively quiet as of late.

Steve recently got to interview producer Eric Fellner while attending the press day for Working Title’s upcoming musical adaptation Les Miserables, and Fellner provided a promising update on the sequel to Tinker Tailor.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.