Brand new character posters have arrived for 20th Century Fox's Murder on the Orient Express, just in time to further amplify the film’s mysterious intrigue. Based on author Agatha Christie’s 1934 mystery novel of the same name, this new big screen adaptation arrives just over forty years after Sidney Lumet brought the tale of murder and suspicion to the big screen with his 1974 film adaptation, starring Hollywood icons like Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, and Albert Finney.
The 2017 version will follow a similar trajectory in terms of its stacked cast. Directed by five-time Oscar-nominee Kenneth Branagh (who will also star as the film’s lead character, Inspector Hercule Poirot), Murder on the Orient Express is a who’s who of A-list Hollywood stars as well as up and coming talent. Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz, and Willem Dafoe will be on-board for the journey, along with Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Josh Gad (Beauty and the Beast), and Lucy Boynton (Gypsy), among others.
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The 16 new posters come courtesy of Fox, each focusing on a specific character from the film, heightening the mystery of who the murder suspect could possibly be on the doomed Orient Express journey. Below is a gallery of the posters, each of which reveals a character, their occupation and which actor will be playing them in Branagh's take on Christie's murder mystery.
[vn_gallery name="Murder on the Orient Express – Character Posters" id="1083453"]
Murder on the Orient Express tells the tale of a train journey on the glamorous Orient Express train line, which originally traveled from Paris to Istanbul, with numerous stops in between. The story is set in the 1930s and focuses on a murder that takes place during the journey, in the middle of a heavy blizzard. Christie’s recurring character of Hercule Poirot is on-board the train at the time and is tasked with solving the mystery of the murder. As the storm intensifies, clues appear to be everywhere (as evidenced by the film’s recent promotional site) and everyone is a suspect.
While Murder on the Orient Express isn’t geared to be a CG-filled extravaganza, complete with explosions and non-stop action, it does have the right ingredients in place to pull off being both a critical favorite and crowd-pleaser to boot. Branagh has his work cut out for him with this offering – not just because of the success of the 1974 film adaptation, but also due to the tremendous cast involved this time around. And while a movie like this often focuses on a very specific demographic, there is always the possibility of a crossover hit here, should audiences find enough in Murder on the Orient Express to appreciate.
With less than a month to go before Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express hits theaters, the film will be arriving just as the late-fall holiday movie season begins to kick off. It’s been a very long time indeed since a murder mystery found success at the box-office. That might all change should Murder on the Orient Express find its mark come November.
NEXT: Murder on the Orient Express Banner Offers Clues to the Mystery
Source: 20th Century Fox
