In 2017, Kenneth Branagh whacked on an impressive handlebar moustache to portray Agatha Christie’s brilliant Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot.
We can’t help but wonder whether he’s shaved it off since, or just maintained the glorious mo for the intervening years up to the release of Death on the Nile. Originally scheduled for an October 2020 release, the next big-screen Poirot whodunnit will chug slowly onto our screens from February 10, 2022.
The formula for these things is delightfully classic: Poirot’s after an exotic holiday to rest his crime-busting brain, but instead finds himself amongst a star-studded ensemble of travellers, one of whom must be a murderer. That is, at least one…if you saw Murder On The Orient Express, you’ll know it’s not always that simple.
This time, Poirot must figure out who on the luxurious steamboat S.S. Karnak is the killer before they strike again. Could it be mother and daughter, Sophie Okenedo and Letitia Wright? Russell Brand, not looking very Russell Brand-y at all with grey hair and specs? Bollywood star Ali Fazal, or GOT alum Rose Leslie?
The trailer above relies heavily on a saucy love triangle between an American-accented Gal Gadot, Sex Education star Emma Mackey, and Armie Hammer—the Call Me By Your Name actor being part of the reason for the film’s prolonged release. Since production wrapped, Hammer has faced serious charges of sexual assault, coercion, and even cannibalism (it’s a long story), so we may expect his role to be dramatically recut in the film’s final version.
We personally have our fingers crossed that Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders are going to literally be partners in crime this time, maybe with Annette Bening stepping in to help out. Whoever it is, we’ll have to wait until February to find out, when Death on the Nile reaches our shores.
