“Death on the Nile” is a new film directed by Kenneth Branagh and it is the sequel to the hit, “Murder on the Orient Express”.
So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about the new film.
- Death on the Nile is a 2022 mystery film
- It is directed by Kenneth Branagh
- From a screenplay by Michael Green
- The film i based on the 1937 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie
- It was produced by Branagh, Ridley Scott, Judy Hofflund, and Kevin J. Walsh
- The film is a sequel to Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
- In the film stars Branagh returning as Hercule Poirot
- Along with Tom Bateman also returning from the first film
- Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders, and Letitia Wright round out the ensemble cast
- The film is the third screen adaptation of Christie’s novel
- Following the 1978 film and an episode of the television series Agatha Christie’s Poirot broadcast in 2004
- Principal photography began in September 2019
- With filming taking place at Longcross Studios in England and on location in Morocco
- Filming was completed that December
- Death on the Nile was first released in several international markets on February 9, 2022, and in the United Kingdom and United States on February 11
- Following several delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- The film received mixed reviews from critics
- Critics noted it as inferior to the previous adaptations but appreciated its old-fashion style
- In 2015, Christie’s great-grandson James Prichard, chairman of Agatha Christie Limited, expressed enthusiasm for sequels, citing the positive collaboration with Branagh and the production team
- In May 2017, Branagh expressed interest in further installments if the first film were successful
- On November 20, 2017, it was announced that 20th Century Fox was developing Death on the Nile as a sequel to their version of Murder on the Orient Express with Michael Green returning to pen the script and Kenneth Branagh set to return on camera as Poirot, and behind the camera as director
- In September 2018, Gal Gadot joined the cast.[8] In addition, Paco Delgado was hired to design the costumes
- In October 2018, Armie Hammer joined the cast, and Tom Bateman was confirmed to reprise his role as Bouc for the film
- In January 2019, Jodie Comer had joined the cast
- In April 2019, Letitia Wright joined the cast
- Annette Bening was in talks to join in June
- Russell Brand joined the cast in August 2019
- Ali Fazal, Dawn French, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo and Jennifer Saunders were added in September, with Comer not being involved
- Principal photography began on September 30, 2019, at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England
- And then moved to Morocco despite original reports of filming in Egypt
- A boat was recreated, as well as the Temple of Abu Simbel
- The Tiffany Yellow Diamond was used for the film
- Shooting lasted until December 18, 2019
- Úna Ní Dhonghaíle served as the editor for Death on the Nile
- Double Negative (DNEG) provided the visual effects for the film, with Academy Award-winning special effects artist George Murphy as the overall visual effects supervisor
- Additional VFX were provided by Lola VFX and Raynault VFX
- In January 2019, Patrick Doyle, a frequent collaborator on Branagh’s films (including the film’s predecessor), was announced as the composer for the film
- In the United States and Canada, Death on the Nile was released alongside Marry Me and Blacklight
- The film is projected to gross between $11 to 17 million from 3,280 theaters in its opening weekend
- The film earned $1.1 million from Wednesday and Thursday night previews
- On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 65% rating
- Based on 168 critic reviews
- With an average rating of 5.80/10
- The website’s consensus reads, “Old-fashioned to a fault, the solidly entertaining Death on the Nile is enlivened by its all-star cast and director-star Kenneth Branagh’s obvious affection for the material”
- Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 52 out of 100
- Based on 39 critics
- Indicating “mixed or average reviews”
- Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “B+” on an A+ to F scale
- It is the same score as its predecessor
- In a December 2017 interview with the Associated Press, Branagh discussed developing the adaptation of Death on the Nile with the possibility of more films to follow, potentially creating a new “cinematic universe” of Christie films
Got anything to add?