Daisy Ridley, Judi Dench join ‘Murder on the Orient Express’

Several A-listers including Daisy Ridley, Judi Dench, Michael Pena and ‘Hamilton’ star Leslie Odom Jr have joined the cast of ‘Murder on the Orient Express’. Kenneth Branagh is on board to play the lead character, detective Hercule Poirot, in the adaptation of Agatha Christie’s acclaimed mystery novel, said The Hollywood Reporter. The movie also stars Johnny Depp and Michelle Pfeiffer.

Depp will play Ratchett, the man who is murdered in the train. His Dark Shadows co-star Pfeiffer will play a glamorous and opinionated passenger with a secret named Mrs Hubbard, the role which was turned down by Angelina Jolie. Ridley has been roped in to play Mary Debenham, a working-class woman, who is in love with Arbuthnot.

Meanwhile, Dench is set to play Princess Dragomiroff. As for Pena, he is on board to play a Cuban passenger named Marquez. Other cast members include Derek Jacobi, Lucy Boynton and Tom Bateman, who are set to play Masterman, Countess Andrenyi and Poirot’s friend Bouc respectively.

‘Murder on the Orient Express’ centers on Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, who is called into action after an American tycoon is found murdered. The victim’s been stabbed multiple times in his locked compartment inside the luxurious Orient Express. With a killer in the midst during a terriblesnowstorm, Poirot must identify the murderer before there is another victim.