Kenneth Branagh has been spending a lot of time within the world of Agatha Christie with many of his most recent cinematic ventures. The multi-hyphenate has directed two murder mystery films from the author, Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, with A Haunting in Venice set to be released in September. Branagh also stars as Hercule Poirot, a detective who seeks to solve the whimsical mysteries at the center of the Christie stories, acting as a throughline that connects the movies. While the latest Poirot film has yet to hit theaters, fans are already wondering if Branagh has a follow up film in the works.
In a recent interview with our sister-site Total Film, producer James Prichard revealed if the studio would be looking to Kenneth Branagh for another film after A Haunting in Venice. The previous movies have been well received, with many loving the highly stylized versions of the classic tales and the ensemble casts. When asked if mystery fans have another Christie adaptation to look forward to, Prichard said:
If Ken wants to do more, and Michael [Green] wants to write more, we'll certainly do another. There's a lot of material still to go, so we're not going to run out of inspiration.
This makes me wonder what other novels the team could be interested in adapting. Some of Christie’s most notable works are up for grabs, like The Mousetrap and The Mysterious Affair at Styles, and many of her lesser-known works also deserve to be explored. I could see this film series carrying on for quite a while if the creative team remains interested in reimagining these titles on the big screen. Death on the Nile and Murder on the Orient Express were sneaky moneymakers and reportedly had very strong streaming viewerships, so there is seemingly an audience for these kinds of mysteries. Each film brings something new to the source material and have great casts, making for really fun watches.
While there is potential for a fourth film, it has yet to be announced. In the meantime, genre fans have A Haunting In Venice to look forward to. It’s adapted from the novel Hallowe'en Party, and the trailers have teased another spooky mystery perfect for the fall. The globetrotting detective Poirot is once again investigating another crime, this time one of supernatural proportions at a palazzo in Venice, Italy. A Haunting in Venice boasts additional performances by Jamie Dornan, Michelle Yeoh, Tina Fey and Yellowstone’s Kelly Reilly, and exciting haunts for our favorite mustachioed sleuth to delve into.
Brangah always has something up his sleeves with these adaptations, so hopefully A Haunting In Venice lives up to its predecessors and does well enough to warrant a sequel. It is a world worth exploring and updates classic literature to make it more accessible for new modern audiences. There are so many Christie novels to work with, so we’ll just have to wait and see what the Belfast director may be interested in for his next installment.
A Haunting in Venice is set to hit theaters nationwide on September 15th, so check it out when you can. Additionally, Kenneth Brangah’s most recent Poirot work, Death on the Nile, is available to stream now with a Hulu subscription. For more information on other films heading to cinemas and streaming in the upcoming months, consult our 2023 movie release schedule.
