Kenneth Branagh to star in, direct 'Murder on the Orient Express' remake

LONDON, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Kenneth Branagh is to star in, produce and direct an adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic mystery novel Murder on the Orient Express.

The My Week with Marilyn actor and Cinderella director will play Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in the film, which also is being produced by Ridley Scott, Simon Kinberg, Mark Gordon, Michael Schaefer and Aditya Sood. Michael Green is writing the screenplay, with Steve Asbell overseeing the production for 20th Century Fox.

Like its 1934 source material, the movie will revolve around a murder onboard the famous train on its journey through central Europe.

"The extraordinary thing about my great-grandmother's stories is just how timeless they are and how perfectly they lend themselves to the cinematic experience," James Prichard, the film's executive producer and the chairman of Agatha Christie Ltd., said in a statement.

"Eighty years after the publication of the novel, Fox and its creative team will bring Murder on the Orient Express, a classic Christie tale, to new audiences across the world. We are genuinely excited about this partnership and with 33 Poirot stories to be told, we look forward to this being the first of many collaborations."