Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders join Poirot sequel ‘Death on the Nile’

We’re now even more excited about the follow-up to 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express!

Kenneth Branagh is returning to direct a sequel to his hit Agatha Christie adaptation.

Based on Christie’s classic murder mystery novel, Death on the Nile begins filming very soon in Surrey, England and on location in Egypt.

Alongside Branagh as Hercule Poirot, a huge star-filled ensemble cast has already been confirmed.

The big names include Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), Armie Hammer (Call Me By Your Name), Rose Leslie (Downton Abbey), Letitia Wright (Black Panther), Annette Bening (American Beauty), Ali Fazal (Victoria & Abdul), Sophie Okonedo (Christopher Robin), Tom Bateman (Vanity Fair) and comedian Russell Brand.

It’s now been announced that British comedy double act Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders have joined the cast.

The pair shot to fame in the late 1980s with their BBC sketch show French & Saunders, before going on to huge success separately in The Vicar of Dibley and Absolutely Fabulous.

The comic duo still regularly collaborate, most recently on their brilliant Mamma Mia! parody.

Kenneth Branagh previously discussed the process of casting the movie: “We want the same sense of event. Something I’m pleased about is that I bump into a lot actors I admire and they ask, ‘Can I be in the next one?!’ So I’ll absolutely be taking them up on that.”

Death on the Nile sails in to cinemas on 9th October 2020.

The script has been written by Michael Green, who previously wrote the screenplay for Murder on the Orient Express.

Agatha Christie’s novel has previously been made into a film in 1978 – starring Peter Ustinov, Bette Davis, Maggie Smith and Lois Chiles.

It was also adapted as part of David Suchet’s long-running Poirot TV series in 2004, featuring a young Emily Blunt.

Murder on the Orient Express is available to buy on DVD on Amazon.