Tom Bateman (actor)

Murder on the Orient Express is an upcoming American mystery film directed by Kenneth Branagh. The screenplay by Michael Green is based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie. The film stars Branagh, Tom Bateman, Lucy Boynton, Olivia Colman, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Derek Jacobi, Marwan Kenzari, Leslie Odom Jr., Michelle Pfeiffer, Sergei Polunin, and Daisy Ridley. Scheduled to be released on November 10, 2017, by 20th Century Fox, the film is the second motion picture adaptation of Christie's novel, following Sidney Lumet's 1974 version.

20th Century Fox announced the project in December 2013. On June 16, 2015, Fox hired director Kenneth Branagh to direct a new film adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express. On November 20, 2015, it was revealed that Branagh would also star in the film to play the role of detective Hercule Poirot.Michael Green wrote the script. On June 10, 2016, it was reported that Angelina Jolie was in early talks to star in the film, which Variety reported on August 4, that she would not sign on to star, while the studio was looking for other actresses like Charlize Theron. On August 17, Variety reported that Leslie Odom Jr. was in talks to join the cast in an unspecified role. On September 6, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Tom Bateman had joined the cast as Bouc. On September 29, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley, Judi Dench, Michael Peña, Derek Jacobi, and Lucy Boynton were added to the cast. On October 20, Josh Gad was cast in the film to play Hector MacQueen. On October 27, Marwan Kenzari joined the cast as the French conductor of the train. On November 11, Penélope Cruz joined the cast in an unspecified role, later revealed to be Pilar Estravados (a Hispanic version of the novel's Greta Ohlsson, borrowing the name of a character in Hercule Poirot's Christmas). On December 5, Sergei Polunin joined the cast in an undisclosed role, later revealed to be the Count Andrenyi. On January 5, 2017, Willem Dafoe joined the cast of the film as an undercover detective. On January 9, Olivia Colman revealed that she had been cast as Princess Dragomiroff's maid. On January 25, it was revealed that Michael Peña had dropped out of the film and that Manuel Garcia-Rulfo had replaced him as Biniamino Marquez (a Cuban version of the novel's Antonio Foscarelli).