Johnny Depp is but one of 13 suspects stranded on a train in Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express . The latest adaptation of the 1934 detective novel stars Kenneth Branagh as the brilliant Hercule Poirot. Branagh also directs the movie from a screenplay by Michael Green and which is set to be released on November 10, 2017. What’s more, the studio says that there is a clue hidden in the trailer below, which has Poirot making this terse announcement.
“A passenger has died. The murderer is on the train now. Everyone is a suspect. So let’s catch a killer.”
The Christie classic revolves around 13 strangers who depart from Istanbul to make their way through Europe aboard the luxurious Orient Express. However, the glamor and thrill of the train soon make way for horror one night as the air is rent with screams. The deafening sound of a gunshot quickly follows as the train screeches to a halt. Luckily, seasoned detective Hercule Poirot is on board, and he is able to take charge. Who better to solve the mystery than the famed Belgian detective? The only problem is that Poirot quickly realizes that every single one of the 13 passengers could very well be the murderer. It is up to Hercule Poirot to solve the case before another murder on the Orient Express occurs.
According to IMDb, Murder on the Orient Express’ cast includes some of Hollywood’s top actors, including Penelope Cruz, Daisy Ridley, Johnny Depp, Dame Judi Dench, Willem Dafoe, Josh Gad, Leslie Odom Jr., Tom Bateman, Michelle Pfeiffer, Derek Jacobi, Marwan Kenzari, Olivia Colman, Lucy Boynton, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and Sergei Polunin. Kenneth Branagh said he knew that these actors could bring “detail and emotional depth” to the characters and combined with traveling aboard the Orient Express in old-world glamor was what excited him about this project.
True to Agatha Christie’s description, Poirot sports an immense mustache and an air of haughtiness that one loves to hate. Branagh explained in an interview that Poirot uses the mustache for two purposes: protection and provocation. It is easy to hide behind the sheer size of the mustache, and it becomes easy to decipher people’s motives when they underestimate him because of how ridiculous his appearance is.
[Featured Image by Twentieth Century Fox]