20th Century Studios dropped the first trailer for its forthcoming big-ticket murder-mystery, Death on the Nile, and it's quite a star-studded affair. Serving as the second silver-screen adaptation of Agatha Christie's eponymous novel, following the 1978 John Guillermin masterpiece, Death on the Nile is a follow-up to Kenneth Branagh's 2017 handsomely-staged blockbuster Murder on the Orient Express. Branagh has developed this international-star-spangled Christie escapade from a script from Orient Express screenwriter Michael Green. Branagh himself leads the movie as the titular Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, who is back to unearth another grave whodunnit after his Orient Express cloak-and-dagger adventures.
The Branagh thriller was primed to release in the United States on December 20, 2019, and compete with Disney and Lucasfilm's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. But following Disney's acquisition of Fox's film and TV assets, the movie was pushed back to October 9, 2020, to avoid clashes with its new studio's other tentpole, and eventually to October 23, 2020, in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. Branagh is interested in developing a Christie/ Poirot-inspired cinematic universe, and the trailer of the new movie suggests that his franchise plans are in motion.
The Death on the Nile trailer follows a tale of unrestrained passion and indisposed jealously against the majestic Giza vistas and the picturesque pacific Nile. Branagh's Monsieur Poirot is aboard a lavish steamer 'the Karnak' when a newly-wedded couple's halcyon honeymoon is devastatingly cut short by an enigmatic murder. The passengers on board, all played by pedigreed British and international stars, are a group of unsuspecting, unblemished, cosmopolitan nobles. Yet, as it's a recurring trope in the Christie lore, all the characters have their own, wicked skeletons in the closet. And their motivations pretzel the intricate mystery that Branagh's Poirot has been tasked to unravel. Take a look at the movie's trailer below
Death on the Nile will feature a stacked roster of A-listed performers including Gal Gadot, Letitia Wright, Armie Hammer, Annette Bening, Ali Fazal, Sophie Okonedo, Tom Bateman, Emma Mackey, Dawn French, Rose Leslie, Jennifer Saunders, and Russell Brand. Hammer and Gadot lead the film as the newlyweds Simon and Linnet Ridgeway-Doyle, who's honeymoon goes murderously wrong on the cruise. It is suspected that the passionate romance between Hammer and Gadot's characters is the motive behind the crime. However, given the reputation of Branagh's films, one cannot tell until the epilogue.
The profuse visuals, the dynamic star-cast, and the stature of Branagh and Christie's work have all tipped Death on the Nile to be quite a bonanza at the box-office. But provided the current pandemic crisis, the theatrical reach of the movie might fall short of 20 Century's expectations. And even if cinemas open across the world by the time the movie releases, it will have to inevitably contest with Wonder Woman 1984, another Gadot movie.
Death on the Nile's trailer shows the movie is aiming for the same fruitful territory as its predecessor Murder on the Orient Express. But another calendar shake-up is presumably required to allow the film the kind of attention it deserves.
Source: 20th Century Studios
