Ready for a quick lesson in movie math? If one were to ask the question, "How much is one Angelina Jolie worth?" most wouldn't be able to answer the question with a monetary figure or a straight face. However, we may have learned the answer today, as a news item has suggested that Johnny Depp and Michelle Pfeiffer are both up for roles in the project she recently departed, Murder On The Orient Express. Based on fair market value and level of exposure, we'd say that's about right.
While the famed actor/director double threat was reported to have been in talks to join the cast of Kenneth Branagh's star-studded adaptation only a couple of months ago, Jolie eventually left the negotiations table. This obviously left a void in the cast list for Murder On The Orient Express, and The Hollywood Reporter's recent piece on the legacy of author Agatha Christie has dropped both Johnny Depp and Michelle Pfeiffer into the mix as being in talks. Should either, or both, of them join the cast, they'll be joining Branagh himself, as well as Hamilton star Leslie Odom, Jr., who was also reported to be in talks to board the legendary train on its fateful/fictitious voyage.
This makes for an interesting coincidence, as Depp and Pfeiffer have worked together in the past, courtesy of Tim Burton's Dark Shadows reboot. Neither of them have worked with director and co-star Kenneth Branagh, so seeing the three of them collaborating with a still in-process cast of all-stars is going to be a treat. No suggestions have been made for which role either actor will be playing, so the expectation for how big or how eccentric a part either Johnny Depp or Michelle Pfeiffer will be playing is still neutral. Though with every actor that signs onto Murder On The Orient Express, one question continues to flash into our minds: who's going to play the murder victim?
With Murder On The Orient Express focusing on famed detective Hercule Poirot and his investigation of the murder of one Mr. Samuel Ratchett aboard the titular train, someone will obviously have to play the role of the dearly departed passenger. Should Kenneth Branagh's version keep with tradition, Depp's odds of surviving are better than Pfeiffer's. However, if the new adaptation of the 1934 novel updates its setting and throws some curve balls with the genders of its characters, we might see Michelle Pfeiffer with a one way ticket to the great beyond. In either case, if the casting of one of, if not both, of these well regarded actors pulls through, that'll provide and extra reason to go see Murder On The Orient Express.
Murder On The Orient Express is set for a November 10, 2017 release date, for the time being.
