THREE OF the stars of 2021's hit film Belfast are reuniting on the big screen for an adaptation of Agatha Christie novel A Haunting in Venice.
Kenneth Branagh is reprising his role as Hercule Poirot for his third outing, with Jamie Dornan and Jude Hill, both of whom were in Belfast, also joining the cast for the murder mystery.
Branagh is also returning to the director's chair, with other cast members including Tina Fey, Michelle Yeoh and Kelly Reilly.
Production is set to begin 31 October, Halloween Day, which is fitting since Haunting is inspired by the 1969 Christie novel, Hallowe’en Party.
That story saw the mystery set in motion when a 13-year old girl, who claimed she witnessed a murder when she was younger, is found dead in an apple-bobbing tub.
20th Century Studios described the adaptation, written by Michael Green, as an “unsettling supernatural-thriller” and shared its logline:
“Now retired and living in self-imposed exile in the world’s most glamorous city, Poirot reluctantly attends a séance at a decaying, haunted palazzo. When one of the guests is murdered, the detective is thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets.”
“This is a fantastic development of the character Hercule Poirot, as well as the Agatha Christie franchise,” said Branagh in a statement.
“Based on a complex, little known tale of mystery set at Halloween in a pictorially ravishing city, it is an amazing opportunity for us, as filmmakers, and we are relishing the chance to deliver something truly spine-chilling for our loyal movie audiences.”
Branagh directed and starred in Christie features Murder on the Orient Express (2017) and Death on the Nile (2022).
Dornan next be seen in Heart of Stone in 2023 alongside Gal Gadot, who starred in Death on the Nile.
Yeoh is enjoying a career resurgence thanks to Everything Everywhere All At Once, the heady multiverse-centric thriller from filmmakers the Daniels.
Fey is coming off appearing in Only Murders in the Building and voicing a starring role in Pixar’s Soul.
Also in the cast is Emma Laird, who had a key role in TV’s Mayor of Kingstown while Reilly is one of the stars of Yellowstone.
