Netflix Taps Aaron Taylor-Johnson for Enigma Variations — Could This Be His Most Daring Role Yet?

Netflix looks ready to double down on swoony TV again. The streamer is lining up a steamy limited series called 'Enigma Variations' with Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the lead, after an earlier flirtation with Jeremy Allen White. Given how often Taylor-Johnson gets floated as a next-Bond contender, this one has some heat baked in.

The show is adapted from Andre Aciman's novel of the same name. If that name rings a bell, he wrote 'Call Me by Your Name' — the one that became the 2017 movie starring Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer. That story leaned hard into its Italian summer vibe, and this new one is also splitting time in Italy, with chapters unfolding in New England and New York. Italy rarely hurts a romance.

Amanda Kate Shuman is running the show. She has a mix of spycraft and fantasy on her resume — 'The Blacklist,' 'Berlin Station,' and 'The Wheel of Time' — which is an intriguing cocktail for a layered, time-spanning love story like this.

• Title: Enigma Variations (limited series)
• Star: Aaron Taylor-Johnson (taking over after Jeremy Allen White was previously attached)
• Source material: Andre Aciman's novel
• Settings: Italy, New England, New York
• Showrunner: Amanda Kate Shuman ('The Blacklist,' 'Berlin Station,' 'The Wheel of Time')
• Status: No additional cast yet; filming timeline still under wraps

Quietly, this is a rare TV turn for Taylor-Johnson. He has barely touched the small screen since 2007, when he headlined 'Talk to Me' and 'Nearly Famous.' If Netflix is hunting for another high-gloss romance to sit alongside its chart-toppers, this checks the boxes: big-name lead, proven author, and locations that do half the seducing for you.

More as it develops.