Penelope Cruz has been announced to join the cast of director (as well as lead actor) Kenneth Branagh´s new version of Murder On The Orient Express, based on the Agatha Christie mystery classic. She will be part of an all star cast, which includes Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Pena, Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley, Judi Dench, Sir Derek Jacobi and Josh Gad, for Twentieth Century Fox. The plot sees master Belgian detective Hercule Poirot solve the murder of a businessman abroad the luxury titular train.
'Murder' is the latest Poirot adaptation.
Previously, Murder had been adapted into film twice: first, as a 1971 film, directed by legendary film director Sidney Lumet (12 Angry Men, Night Falls On Manhattan) and starring Albert Finney, Sean Connery, Lauren Bacall, Anthony Perkins, Jacqueline Bisset and Vanessa Redgrave.
The second time, as a 2001 television film, directed by Carl Schenkel, and starring Alfred Molina, Leslie Caron and Peter Strauss. It was also adapted as a 1993 BBC Radio 4 play, and also as part of the acclaimed ITV Agatha Christie's Poirot, starring David Suchet, in 2010.
'Murder' will be released November 2017.
The film will be written by Michael Green (Green Lantern, Alien: Covenant, Blade Runner 2049), and be produced by Sir Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions, alongside Simon Kinberg (X Men: Apocalypse, Kingsman, Fant4stic), Mark Gordon (Criminal Minds, Ray Donovan, War Dogs) and Branagh. The project had previously involved Angelina Jolie and Charlize Theron for potential roles, but Jolie dropped out and Theron was beaten out by Pfeiffer.
Interestingly, this is the second Agatha Christie project Pfeiffer was attached to star in: back in 2004, she was tied to mystery drama 'Witness for the Prosecution'. The film's screenplay was to have been written by her husband, David E. Kelley (Lake Placid, To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday), and was a remake of the 1957 Billy Wilder (Some Like It Hot, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes) film, starring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton and Elsa Lancaster.
