Kenneth Branagh might have missed out on hiring Angelina Jolie for his new adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder On The Orient Express, but that isn't stopping him locking in some major acting talent. Joining Hamilton alumnus Leslie Odom Jr. are Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley, Judi Dench, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Pena, Derek Jacobi, Tom Bateman and Lucy Boynton.
Michael Green wrote the script for this latest cinematic trip on Christie's killer train, which finds a businessman killed and detective Hercule Poirot solving the case while surrounded by potential suspects.
Branagh is starring as Poirot, while Odom Jr. is Dr. Arbuthnot. Depp. who is still technically in talks but seems close to signing on, will be Ratchett, the man who meets his maker. Ridley is set as Mary Debenham, a woman in love with the doctor, and Dench is Princess Dragomiroff, a member of the Russian aristocracy. Pfeiffer's on as Mrs. Hubbard, a passenger with a secret, with Pena as a Cuban passenger named Marquez and Bateman is playing Bouc.
"Christie's Murder is mysterious, compelling and unsettling," Branagh said in a statement carried by The Hollywood Reporter. "I'm honored to have this fantastic group of actors bring these dark materials to life for a new audience." He'll start the cameras and the wheels rolling this November in London and the movie will be out on 24 November next year.