‘Death On The Nile’ Releases Gorgeous New Character Posters and a Special Look at the Film
After constant release delays, Hercule Poirot’s return to the big screen is finally close.
Even as Kenneth Branagh is keeping himself busy on the awards campaign trail with his latest feature, ‘Belfast’, he still has his pandemic-delayed mystery ‘Death on the Nile’ scheduled to finally hit the big screen next month and 20th Century Studios is making sure audiences are aware of its arrival. The Disney-owned studio has released seven character posters that showcase the star studded cast of the latest Agatha Christie adaptation.
Based on Christie’s classic 1937 novel, “Death on the Nile” once again sees Branagh play legendary detective Poirot that he first portrayed in 2017’s ‘Murder on the Orient Express’. This time, the Belgian sleuth is taking a much deserved holiday aboard a steamer on the Egyptian river. What starts off as a carefree vacation eventually turns into work for Poirot when one of the passengers is found murdered. Through an untangling web of mystery set against beautiful backdrops, our brave detective must investigate the other high society passengers on the ship and crack the case before the killer strikes again.
The character posters that 20th Century has provided do an excellent job at not only highlighting the packed cast but also the Egypt setting and tone with the use of yellow and purple colors to give a sense of intrigue. Besides Branagh, other cast members that have received their own poster include Gal Gadot, Annette Bening, Letitia Wright, Emma Mackey, Ali Fazal and the only other returning cast member from Orient Express, Tom Bateman.
One cast member whose poster you’re not likely to see is Armie Hammer. Despite having a major role, allegations made against Hammer claiming he sexually abused several women and even having cannibalistic fetishes have tarnished the actor’s reputation making it difficult for the studio to promote him in this project. Recent trailers have also downplayed his presence as a way of selling the picture to as many people as possible. This is one of the reasons why Nile was delayed for so long compared to other films affected by COVID.
Despite this problem, Branagh and 20th Century feel pretty strong about the film’s chances. Orient Express made over $350 million worldwide on a reasonable $55 million budget and while numbers like that don’t seem to be in the cards this time around as older adults remain slow to come back to the big screen, the hope is that the goodwill from the previous Poirot film, Branagh’s awards success with Belfast and very little in the way of competition will allow this latest adventure to find its audience.