Kenneth Branagh has confirmed that, "all being well", his upcoming Murder on the Orient Express sequel will feature Jodie Comer in a lead role.

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The Killing Eve star joins Gal Gadot and Armie Hammer in Death on the Nile, which, at this rate, will likely have just as star-studded a cast as its predecessor, which featured Olivia Colman, Judi Dench, Daisy Ridley, Johnny Depp, Willem Defoe and Penelope Cruz alongside Branagh's Hercule Poirot.

In a new interview with Empire, Branagh said that Comer, Gadot and Hammer will form the "central trio" of characters in the mystery, which was teased at the end of the 2017 film, and sees Poirot attempt to solve a murder case while on holiday in Egypt.

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The director also commented on the pressure to match the brilliant cast from his first outing as the mustachioed Belgian detective.

Kenneth Branagh in Murder on the Orient Express, publicly picture, BD
Kenneth Branagh in Murder on the Orient Express

"It's a big challenge," he says. "All being well, we have Gal Gadot, Jodie Comer and Armie Hammer. That central trio I'm very excited about. We're in the process of casting the rest. We want the same sense of event. Something I'm pleased about is that I bump into a lot actors I admire and they ask, 'Can I be in the next one?!' So I'll absolutely be taking them up on that."

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Death on the Nile is set to be released in UK cinemas in 2020

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