Saoirse Ronan, Sam Rockwell and David Oyewolo are set to star in a new murder mystery film for Searchlight Pictures.
The film will be directed by Tom George, who has previously helmed the award-winning BBC mockumentary This Country and overseen Proms coverage. Mark Chappell, who has written for Cold Feet and My Life in Film, has written the screenplay. Damian Jones, best known for working on The Iron Lady, a biopic of Margaret Thatcher, will produce the picture.
The plot of the as-yet untitled murder mystery will follow a Hollywood director in 1950s London looking to adapt their popular West End play into a film. As members of the production are killed off, Inspector Stoppard (Rockwell), a world-weary inspector, and Constable Stalker (Ronan), an overzealous rookie, are bought together in London’s theatreland to solve the case.
A production date for this murder mystery has not yet been announced, but Ronan can next be seen alongside Bill Murray and Timothee Chalet in Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, set for release in 2021. Meanwhile, Oyelowo will star alongside George Clooney and Felicity Jones in the sci-fi drama The Midnight Sky, which will be on Netflix from 23 December.
All the announced cast have previously performed in period dramas previously. Rockwell played choreographer Bob Fosse in the biographical miniseries Fosse/Verdon, while Ronan last featured in the 19th century romantic drama Ammonite. Oyelowo has also starred in a number of historical movies including Selma and A United Kingdom.
Given the financial success of the murder mystery film genre with movies like Murder on the Orient Express and Knives Out, fans are likely to support to this exciting new entry to the genre. With a stellar cast such as this, the film is likely to draw more attention as more details develop.
Words by Noah Keate
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