And so it’s no surprise that his dumb, lumbering adaptation of Death on the Nile starts with that most needless of things: the legend of how Hercule Poirot got his moustache, involving the wartime trenches of north-west Belgium. But Branagh, of late, has become a maker of big, unsubtle movies like 2011’s Thor, 2015’s Cinderella and 2020’s Artemis Fowl. For Christie, the 300-odd pages of the novel are all that counts. Here is an encapsulation of the fundamental difference between Christie and Branagh. Where Agatha Christie’s novel commences with a pub landlord speculating over a society heiress’s Rolls Royce, this 2022 version opens on a blood-soaked First World War battlefield. And yet, despite the blockbuster appeal of our quaint Belgian sleuth, there is no preparing for how Death on the Nile, the latest chapter in Kenneth Branagh’s reimagining of the character, raises its curtain. Other than a certain Baker Street resident, no detective has been afforded as high a cinematic profile. Kenneth Branagh reprises both his directorial role and that of the iconic detective in the upcoming film adaptation of Death on the Nile.What do people expect from Hercule Poirot on the big screen? In this famous Agatha Christie mystery, Hercule Poirot’s Egyptian adventure aboard a glamorous river steamer descends into a terrifying search for a murderer, with enough twists and turns to keep you unsettled and guessing until the final, shocking discovery. Listen to an extract from the all new digital audio edition of Death on the Nile narrated by Kenneth Branagh, director and star of 20th Century Studios’ upcoming Death on the Nile feature film. The novel has since been adapted into a hidden object PC game and a graphic novel. In 2004, ITV’s Agatha Christie’s Poirot saw David Suchet take on the role in an adaptation which included famous faces Emily Blunt and James Fox. John Moffatt played Poirot in the first radio adaptation based on the book in 1997 which was broadcast as a five-part serial. Previous adaptations of Death on the Nile include the 1978 feature film which starred Peter Ustinov in his first role as Hercule Poirot. Twentieth Century's Death on the Nile is due out in cinemas in February 2022, following the success of their 2017 adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express. As ingenious an alibi as can well be imagined.

Death on the nile david suchet