Over the past five years, actor/director Kenneth Branagh has spent his time adapting Agatha Christie novels into the sort of crowd-pleasing mysteries we rarely get anymore. 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express kicked off the trend, last year’s Death on the Nile continued it, and now we’re getting A Haunting in Venice, an adaptation of Christie’s Hallowe’en Party, which will once again find Branagh playing world’s most heavily-mustached detective Hercule Poirot.
The very first A Haunting in Venice trailer screened at CinemaCon today. Let’s take a look!
Well, this looks solid! And how about that cast? Here’s the full lineup: in addition to Branagh’s Poirot, you’ve got recent Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh, former 30 Rock star Tina Fey (!), Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar secret weapon Jamie Dornan, Kyle Allen, Camille Cottin, Jude Hill, Ali Khan, Emma Laird, Yellowstone‘s Kelly Reilly, and Riccardo Scamarico. That’s a stacked deck, if we do say so ourselves.
Once again, Branagh’s latest Christie adaptation was written by Michael Green (he’s written all of Branagh’s Poirot adaptations), and will feature a score from Joker and Chernobyl composer Hildur Guฤnadรณttir. Here’s an official plot synopsis:
“Set in eerie, post-World War II Venice on All Hallowsโ Eve,ย A Haunting in Veniceย is a terrifying mystery featuring the return of the celebrated sleuth, Hercule Poirot. Now retired and living in self-imposed exile in the worldโs most glamorous city, Poirot reluctantly attends a sรฉance at a decaying, haunted palazzo. When one of the guests is murdered, the detective is thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets.”
Says Branagh:
“This is a fantastic development of the character Hercule Poirot, as well as the Agatha Christie franchise. 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.โ
It’s fun to see this ongoing series of adaptations lean into something so outwardly spooky, and lord knows that movies about seances are all the rage in the horror genre right now. We’re excited to see how this one shakes out, and will be there when it opens in theaters on September 15th, 2023. Stay tuned for more on A Haunting in Venice as further updates roll in; you just know there’s gonna be a parade of character posters somewhere up the road!
