‘Murder On the Orient Express’ Film, Updates: Johnny Depp Boards Agatha Christie Classic with Judi Dench, Daisy Ridley

‘Murder On the Orient Express’ is set to feature Johnny Depp as the murder victim Ratchett alongside Judi Dench’s Princess Natalia Dragomiroff and Daisy Ridley’s Mary Debenham. The upcoming film is a live-action adaptation of Agatha Christie’s iconic detective novel of the same name.

According to Deadline, Depp is in negotiations to star in Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of the classic Agatha Christie detective novel of the same name. The 53-year old actor is set to play Ratchett, a man whose murder sets the storyline rolling. In the original novel, Ratchett tries to secure detective Poirot’s services after he discovers that his life was under threat.

Depp joins Branagh, who is set to lead the cast as detective Hercule Poirot. Poirot is one of Christie’s most iconic and long-lived characters, who appeared in 33 novels and more than 50 short stories. Poirot has been portrayed numerous times on film, television, and radio by actors namely Albert Finney, Alfred Molina, David Suchet, and Orson Welles.

Rounding up the new are Daisy Ridley, Michael Pena, Michelle Pfeiffer, Leslie Odom Jr., and dame Judi Dench. Angelina Jolie was originally attached to play Mrs. Harriet Hubbard, a passenger deemed a suspect. After Jolie exited the project, Pfeiffer is on board to take over.

According to the Guardian, Dench is set to play Russian royalty Princess Natalia Dragomiroff, Pena plays Cuban passenger Marquez, Odom Jr. plays Dr. Constantine, and Ridley plays Mary Debenham. Branagh previously said in a statement, "I'm honoured to have this fantastic group of actors bring these dark materials to life for a new audience.” Production is reportedly slated to begin in November in London.

The ensemble cast mirrors the A-list line-up from the classic 1974 film of the same name that included Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Bisset, Sean Connery, and Vanessa Redgrave. The film was deemed one of the most iconic adaptations of Christie’s novel.

The original 1974 film was directed by Sydney Lumet and produced under G.W. Films Limited and distributed by EMI Films in the U.K. and Paramount Pictures. It was deemed a critical and commercial success, earning £19 million on a production budget of £1.5 million.

According to /Film, CEO of Agatha Christie Limited Hilary Strong admitted that it was good to introduce Christie’s work to a new generation. Strong said, “They’re iconic films, but they are of their time… and there is a new cinema audience that won’t watch films that were made in 1957 or 1974, and we want them to hear her stories.”

‘Murder On the Orient Express’ is an upcoming drama-mystery film scheduled to premiere in theaters on November 22, 2017. It is directed by Kenneth Branagh based on a screenplay prepared by Michael Green. It is produced by Genre Films, The Mark Gordon Company, Scott Free Productions, The Estate of Agatha Christie, and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.