Kenneth Branagh to Direct and Star in Murder on the Orient Express in a Rare Case of the Obvious Suspect Doing It

But what will Branagh’s Poirot mustache look like? Photo: Chris Jackson/2015 Getty Images

Think of a British detective novel. Now think of a British actor-director. If you guessed Murder on the Orient Express and Kenneth Branagh, so did Fox. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Branagh, known for such British things as starring in Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing and having a name like Kenneth Branagh, will direct the studio’s new adaptation of Agatha Christie’s famous novel Murder on the Orient Express, which will have a script by Michael Green (The Green Lantern, Ridley Scott’s upcoming Blade Runner project — no, we don’t get it either). Branagh will also star as Christie’s hero, the fastidious Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Branagh faces some stiff competition, as Sydney Lumet’s 1974 adaptation of the novel earned an Oscar nomination for Albert Finney (as Poirot) and David Suchet’s portrayal of the detective has been on British TV for more than 20 years (he even a did Murder on the Orient Express episode with Jessica Chastain). But, for better or for worse, Branagh can be sure that a studio will remake the film in another 20 years or so, as soon as they find someone more British than him.

Kenneth Branagh to Play Hercule Poirot