All aboard the murder train. Kenneth Branagh directed the upcoming, star-packed adaptation of the classic Agatha Christie murder mystery Murder on the Orient Express, and today 20th Century Fox has shared the film’s first trailer.
Branagh himself stars as Hercule Poirot, the famed Belgian sleuth who has no problem calling himself “probably the greatest detective in the world.” He’s tasked with solving the murder of Samuel Ratchett (Johnny Depp), and everyone onboard is considered a suspect. That puts a lot of famous faces in the crosshairs, as the cast is rounded out by a who’s-who of big name actors: Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley, Josh Gad, Judi Dench, Penélope Cruz, Leslie Odomo Jr., Tom Bateman, Lucy Boynton, Derek Jacobi, and Willem Dafoe are all riding the famed train line for one reason or another, and Poirot must determine if that reason was to kill Mr. Ratchett.
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“I think what I found in the book again, and in the screenplay, was that it unleashed something very primal, very kind of grisly,” Branagh told Entertainment Weekly. “I realized that we could find a way to have the fun of Agatha Christie, but have the absolutely deadly intention behind it, and the danger. I think we’re making a scarier film than people might imagine. We’re not trying to turn it into something it isn’t, but I think we’re away from the drawing room mystery, and we’re into something [else]. Because the book is also a dark psychological revenge drama.”
Murder on the Orient Express pulls into theaters on November 10th. Watch the trailer above, and find the complete synopsis below.
“What starts out as a lavish train ride through Europe quickly unfolds into one of the most stylish, suspenseful and thrilling mysteries ever told. From the novel by best selling author Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express tells the tale of thirteen strangers stranded on a train, where everyone’s a suspect. One man must race against time to solve the puzzle before the murderer strikes again.”
