Broadway star Leslie Odom Jr. may bear witness to Fox’s Murder on the Orient Express, the high-profile reboot in the works from Irish writer-director Kenneth Branagh.
Variety has the scoop, though stopped short of disclosing the role Odom Jr. is in contention for. Coming hot off his performance in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton – where he nabbed the Tony award for Best Actor in a Musical earlier this year – the 35-year-old is a major coup for the long-gestating thriller regardless.
Indeed, he’s currently the only notable star attached, after Angelina Jolie disembarked before a deal could stick. That was two weeks ago and since then, speculation is rife that Fox is eyeing Fast 8 and Mad Max: Fury Road star Charlize Theron as a potential replacement. There’s currently no announcement to report, though.
Extending his responsibilities beyond the lens, Kenneth Branagh will also headline Murder on the Orient Express as detective Hercule Poirot, who scrambles to find the guilty party behind the murder of a wealthy business tycoon. To make matters worse, an unrelenting snow storm brings the Orient Express grinding to a halt somewhere between its journey from Istanbul – then known as Constantinople – to Paris, with Poirot deeming everyone on board to be a suspect. Michael Green of Blade Runner 2 fame penned this new adaption of Agatha Christie’s novel classic.
No word yet on when Branagh will begin orchestrating his Murder on the Orient Express, though we expect further cast members to be announced before the cameras begin rolling in earnest.