Filmmaker Kenneth Branagh is on his third adaptation of the work of iconic writer Agatha Christie, and his latest film, A Haunting In Venice, could be his best outing yet.
With the three films based on her Hercule Poirot stories hitting a new stride, it seems like the ones controlling the Christie estate want even more from Branagh and Poirot.
Agatha Christie’s great-grandson, James Prichard, serves as CEO and chairman of her estate. This gives Prichard control over the 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections Christie penned.
Prichard must be happy with the work he’s seen from Branagh, which has put his great-grandmother’s work into a new generation of viewers. In a new interview, he opens up about his working relationship with the filmmaker as well as what he wants to see in the future.
Prichard tells Inverse, “I would love to make more of these movies. I enjoy the process. I think a Hollywood movie brings you to an audience that you can’t get any other way. There’s a scale to them and a beauty to them, which is second to none.
He continues, “So if this movie is successful and Ken wants to make more and 20th Century wants to make more, I would be very surprised if we didn’t. There are plenty more stories. My great-grandmother wrote 33 full-length Poirot novels. There’s plenty of material to choose from.”
Prichard notes if the demand is there, there should be more Christie adaptations, but Branagh is quite the busy filmmaker. He says, “We go one movie at a time. Let’s hope this one is a success, and then someone wants to make another one. And if that one’s a success, maybe we’ll make another one after that. But there will be a limit at some point. Ken has other things he wants to do. There is a finite amount of time in the world.”
SEE ALSO: Read our A Haunting in Venice review here
As for Christie’s other great detective, Miss Jane Marple, Prichard wants to see her on-screen soon too, telling the outlet, “I would love to do something with Miss Marple. I think she deserves her moment in the sun. She’s always slightly sat in Poirot’s shadow, and it would be nice to bring her out at some point.”
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A Haunting in Venice is set in eerie, post-World War II Venice on All Hallows’ Eve and is a terrifying mystery featuring the return of the celebrated sleuth, Hercule Poirot. Now retired and living in self-imposed exile in the world’s most glamorous city, Poirot reluctantly attends a séance at a decaying, haunted palazzo. When one of the guests is murdered, the detective is thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets.
Joining Kenneth Branagh in the all-star cast of A Haunting in Venice are Kyle Allen, Camille Cottin, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Jude Hill, Ali Khan, Emma Laird, Kelly Reilly, Riccardo Scamarcio, and Michelle Yeoh.
A Haunting in Venice is now playing in cinemas.
