The old-fashioned locked-room murder mystery is about to make a comeback, thanks to the upcoming adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic novel Murder On The Orient Express, the first trailer for which debuted online this Thursday. Produced and directed by Kenneth Branagh with a screenplay by Michael Green, the new movie is the second feature film version of Christie's 1934 mystery about a murder committed within the confines of a luxurious passenger train, with a limited number of suspects and nowhere for the killer to run.
The book was first adapted to the big screen in 1974, in a version headlined by Albert Finney and featuring an all-star cast including Lauren Bacall and Sean Connery. For his new take on the novel, Branagh has assembled a similarly stellar line-up, bringing together some of cinema's most revered stars (including himself in the starring role) and some of Hollywood's brightest up-and-coming performers into one potent mixture sure to spark some fireworks when the drama gets underway.
Here are the 13 people who will be locked inside the Orient Express when the film hits theaters this fall… ranked by each cast member's likelihood of being the murderer. Don't worry, though. You'll find no spoilers here.
13. Kenneth Branagh
Who he's playing: Famed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot
Likelihood of being the murderer: Zero. Poirot is the hero of many of Christie's novels and is much more inclined to use his "grey matter" to solve crimes, not commit them.
12. Johnny Depp
Who he's playing: Murder victim Edward Ratchett
Likelihood of being the murderer: While I wouldn't put it past Agatha Christie to have a book where the twist is that the victim and the murderer somehow end up being the same person, I don't think this is it — unless Ratchett somehow found a way to stab himself 13 times, that is.
11. Michelle Pfeiffer
Who she's playing: Famous American actress Caroline Hubbard
Likelihood of being the murderer: More likely to kill someone with her snobby attitude than literal knives, Hubbard seems more like she's the kind of high-strung personality who will cause complications in the solving of the mystery rather than someone who actually did the deed.
10. Sergei Polunin
Who he's playing: Count Rudolph Andrenyi
Likelihood of being the murderer: The dark-featured, foreign nobleman (played here by a real-life Ukrainian ballet dancer) is a classic red herring of old school murder mysteries. Other passengers may suspect him, but audiences probably shouldn't.
9. Judi Dench
Who she's playing: Princess Natalia Dragomiroff
Likelihood of being the murderer: I can't really see Dame Judi Dench physically overpowering Johnny Depp and stabbing him 13 times, can you? That being said, that doesn't necessarily mean she isn't involved in the murder somehow…
8. Manuel Garcia-Rulfo
Who he's playing: Cuban traveling salesman Biniamino Marquez
Likelihood of being the murderer: While the loud and charming salesman may seem like he's just there to provide colorful commentary, that dashing smile could also be hiding some darker secrets. (The Magnificent Seven actor is playing a slightly altered version of the novel's Italian salesman Antonio Foscarelli.)
7. Josh Gad
Who he's playing: Ratchett's personal assistant Hector MacQueen
Likelihood of being the murderer: While MacQueen may seem affable enough, we shouldn't let the fact that Gad played Olaf the talking snowman fool us; if anyone wanted Ratchett dead, wouldn't someone close to him have the most motive?
6. Leslie Odom, Jr.
Who he's playing: Dashing doctor John Arbuthnot
Likelihood of being the murderer: Did you catch that glance exchanged between Odom, Jr. (of Hamilton fame) and Daisy Ridley? They're certainly up to no good — but is it murder, or just a distracting subplot?
5. Daisy Ridley
Who she's playing: Beautiful governess Mary Debenham
Likelihood of being the murderer: Just look at that sly grin. If Mary and Dr. Arbuthnot are plotting something together, I wouldn't put it past the seemingly mild-mannered governess to be the one to have the cojones to actually pull it off.
4. Willem Dafoe
Who he's playing: Private detective Gerhard Hardman
Likelihood of being the murderer: Poirot's investigation into Ratchett's murder is complicated by the presence of a second detective onboard the Orient Express. But is Hardman's presence really just a unexpected hindrance? Or is he working hard(man) to cover his own tracks? (Plus, Dafoe just always seems sinister, doesn't he?)
3. Olivia Colman
Who she's playing: Princess Dragomiroff's maid Hildegarde Schmidt
Likelihood of being the murderer: The fact that the Golden Globe-winning star of Broadchurch and The Night Manager is barely featured in the trailer — her name isn't even included in the cast list at the end! — might mean that the marketing team is trying to hide something from us. I wouldn't put it past the mousy maid to be deadlier than she appears.
2. Penélope Cruz
Who she's playing: Spanish missionary Pilar Estravados
Likelihood of being the murderer: What's a quiet foreign missionary doing in a posh train car traveling across Asia? There's certainly more to Pilar than meets the eye… not to mention the fact that Cruz playing the same role that won Ingrid Bergman an Academy Award in the 1974 adaptation. (Although in that version, like the novel, she was a Swedish missionary named Greta Ohlsson.) She must have some pretty juicy scenes if the role was enough to net Bergman a third career Oscar.
1. Derek Jacobi
Who he's playing: Ratchett's butler Masterman
Likelihood of being the murderer: Have we learned nothing, people? The butler always does it!
Find out whodunnit when Murder On The Orient Express chugs into movie theaters on Nov. 10, 2017.
