When an unsavoury American called Mr Ratchett is killed, Poirot must discover which of the train’s passengers – all of whom have a connection to the dead man – is the murderer. The suspects were played by an all-star cast including Lauren Becall, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery and Vanessa Redgrave.
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He had already been attached to direct the film, as TheWrap exclusively reported in June, from a script by Michael Green (“Blade Runner 2”).
A five-time Oscar nominee, Branagh credits include several acclaimed Shakespeare adaptations, as well as Marvel’s Thor and more recently, the live action version of Cinderella. Simon Kinberg, Ridley Scott and Mark Gordon will produce.
Best known for Shakespearean roles, Branagh has previous form as a detective, having starred in the BBC adaptation of Swedish crime drama Wallander for four seasons.
James Prichard, the grandson of Christie and the chairman of Agatha Christie Ltd said, “The extraordinary thing about my great grandmother’s stories is just how timeless they are and how perfectly they lend themselves to the cinematic experience”.
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“Murder on the Orient Express”, the 1934 mystery novel written by Agatha Christie is getting a remake in the next few years. We are genuinely excited about this partnership and with 33 Poirot stories to be told, we look forward to this being the first of many collaborations. Kenneth Branagh was in talks to sit in the director’s chair, and we were wondering who he might choose to play detective Hercule Poirot if he did go ahead with the idea.
