Murder on the Orient Express could be the start to a new Agatha Christie franchise

Murder on the Orient Express, is the first in an upcoming slew of new film and television adaptations of Agatha Christie

Murder on the Orient Express, directed by Kenneth Branagh brings back Agatha Christie’s writing to the silver screen. Starring Branagh as the eccentric detective Hercule Poirot, the film premiered in London on Thursday. The star cast also includes Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Michelle Pfeiffer and Daisy Ridley.

“Previous film versions have been romps and they’ve been wonderful, but it felt like with this group of actors it could get a little more dark and a little more emotional, and surprise and divert in a different way,” Branagh told Reuters at the film’s premiere. A ‘whodunit’ tale, the film follows Branagh’s detective as he seeks to unmask a murderer among the passengers on board the glamorous train, trapped by an avalanche in mountainous terrain in southern Europe.

Christie, who died in 1976 aged 85, is cited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the bestselling novelist of all time. Over 30 feature films have been made based on her work, including a 1974 version of Murder on the Orient Express, that saw Ingrid Bergman win an Academy Award for her performance.

Despite a rich pedigree in print, film and television, Branagh’s film represents something of a cinematic resurrection for Christie’s work. The last film based on Agatha Christie’s work was 1985’s Ordeal by Innocence.

“It’s been 30 years, I guess, since we’ve had a proper cinema film,” said James Prichard, Christie’s great grandson and CEO of Agatha Christie Ltd., the company which manages the rights to her works.
“I’d love to say that it was a strategy, that we held it back and refused to allow it, but actually we kind of went out of fashion for a bit, certainly on the big screen.”

Murder on the Orient Express, is the first in an upcoming slew of new film and television adaptations of Agatha Christie properties, which includes a production of Witness for the Prosecution that will star Ben Affleck and will also be directed by him.

So, will Christie’s Poirot go the way of modern-day cinematic heavyweights, superheroes like Spider-Man or Iron Man, and spawn a franchise? “I think Ken’s been fantastic, and I think the idea of this being a one-off Poirot would be sad, so I’d love to see him do more,” Prichard said.