Summary
- Producer James Prichard hints at the possibility of more Hercule Poirot films with Kenneth Branagh as the detective, due to Christie’s extensive catalog of stories.
- Branagh’s unique take on Poirot has reintroduced Christie’s beloved works to a new generation and could make significant contributions to the mystery genre.
- The next adaptation of a Christie book could be The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, a widely acclaimed masterpiece that has only been adapted once before in a lost 1931 film.
A Haunting in Venice producer James Prichard has hinted that Kenneth Branagh’s detective Hercule Poirot could potentially return in many more outings to come. Officially marking the third time Branagh has played Agatha Christie’s iconic Belgian sleuth, A Haunting in Venice is the latest installment in a cinematic franchise that began with 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express. Moving away from some of Christie’s better-known works, this latest film is based on the 1969 novel Hallowe’en Party and will replace the book’s original London setting with the titular Italian city.
Speaking with Total Film (via GamesRadar+) Prichard revealed that there is plenty of opportunity for Branagh’s Poirot franchise to continue following the upcoming release of A Haunting In Venice. Citing Christie’s extensive catalog of Poirot stories, the producer revealed that “we’ll certainly do another” if Branagh and screenwriter Michael Green feel inclined to continue. Check out his comments below:
“If Ken wants to do more, and Michael wants to write more, we’ll certainly do another. There’s a lot of material still to go, so we’re not going to run out of inspiration.”
What Hercule Poirot Story Should Kenneth Branagh Do Next?
Appearing in 33 novels and 51 short stories written over the span of six decades, Christie’s Hercule Poirot sits proudly alongside the likes of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes as one of the most popular fictional detectives of all time. Despite having already been portrayed in film and television by an extensive list of actors long before Branagh ever assumed Poirot’s trademark mustache, his unique take on the character would serve to reintroduce Christie’s beloved works to a whole new generation.
Further buoyed by a rotating roster of all-star casts, Branagh’s Poirot movies have the potential to not only continue for years to come but to also become some of the most important cinematic contributions to the mystery genre. Yet with such an extensive repository of source material to draw upon, the question becomes which Christie book should be the next in line to be adapted to the screen.
While there is a plethora of options available, many readers would gravitate toward championing Christie’s 1926 novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd as the most natural choice. Widely hailed as Christie’s “masterpiece,” it was once voted by the British Crime Writers’ Association as the best crime novel ever written. Moreover, it is a story that has only previously been adapted into one feature film, the lost 1931 Austin Trevor movie Alibi. With no remaining copies of Trevor’s film known to exist, following up A Haunting In Venice with an adaptation of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd could be an exciting, and potentially history-making project.
Source: Total Film (via GamesRadar+)
