Guinness World Records declared Agatha Christie the highest-selling fiction author in history. Best-known for her dozens of detective novels, two characters of her creation become particularly iconic. One is the amateur sleuth Miss Marple, and the other is the Belgian, mustache-adorning, world-renowned detective Hercule Poirot.
There have been several adaptations of Christie's works over the years. Including a television series starring David Suchet as Poirot that aired for over 20 years. More recently, the role has been taken on by Kenneth Branagh, who is poised to continue.
Set to star in and direct another Poirot installment, slated for a 2023 release
Kenneth Branagh is returning for another adaptation centering on Hercule Poirot, reports Variety. As he's done in the past, Branagh is to portray the detective and serve as the movie's director. The film has been titled "A Haunting in Venice." It's reputed to be an adaptation of Christie's novel "Hallowe'en Party," released in the late 1960s.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, at least much of the cast has also been lined up. Among them are Jamie Dornan and Jude Hill. Branagh recently directed Dornan and Hill in the 2021 release "Belfast," for which Branagh also wrote the script. The movie would be nominated for several Oscars, including Best Picture.
Branagh would receive the award for Best Original Screenplay.
Other cast members reportedly signed on include Tina Fey, Kelly Reilly, Michelle Yeoh, Camille Cottin and Riccardo Scamarcio. It has not publicly been announced what roles they would play.
As the title might suggest, a good deal of the plot of the original novel centers on events at a Halloween party.
A teenage girl is found dead shortly after confessing that she had witnessed a murder. Poirot, although retired from professional sleuthing work, agrees to investigate. More deaths then follow as the story goes along.
Production is to take place partially on location in Venice. Other filming locations include Pinewood Studios in London, England.
The movie is scheduled to be released in theaters sometime in 2023. An exact date is unclear, but sometime around Halloween seems fittingly likely.
It would be the third time Branagh in the role
Kenneth Branagh has played Hercule Poirot twice before. The first was "Murder on the Orient Express," released in 2017. That was followed by "Death on the Nile," which, after much delay, hit theaters in 2022.
Though she has long passed away now, Agatha Christie was known to be a harsh critic of adaptations of her writings. She did approve of actress Margaret Rutherford's work as Miss Marple. But had a low opinion of the Movies that Rutherford starred in.
One of the noted exceptions to Christie's disapproval was the 1974 film version of "Murder on the Orient Express." She reportedly enjoyed the movie, as would many others.
It was nominated for six Oscars, with actress Ingrid Bergman winning Best Supporting Actress. The only adaptation to receive similar praise from the author was 1957's "Witness for the Prosecution." The movie was based on a play Christie wrote that was first performed a few years beforehand. It would also be nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture.
