Eddie Redmayne confirms changes to Day of the Jackal reboot from original
Redmayne stars alongside Lashana Lynch in the new Sky drama.
Eddie Redmayne has confirmed what changes are to come in the upcoming Sky series, Day of the Jackal, which is based on the 1971 novel of the same name by Frederick Forsyth.
While it's not the first time that the tale has been brought to the screen, Redmayne has described what changes are to come that differentiate the new drama from the 1973 movie adaptation.
Chatting to Entertainment Weekly, Redmayne said: "It was one of those movies that my family would watch again and again and again.
"And so I thought, wow, this is bold, that they're going to try and reimagine this. And what I read, I just found completely thrilling and compelling, and at each moment it threw me off course and it kind of discombobulated me, but I couldn't stop turning the pages...
"I hadn't done television for a few years, but the idea of getting to spend a proper amount of time with this enigma felt like great material to mine."
The original film starred Edward Fox as the Jackal, while the rest of the cast also included Michael Lonsdale, Alan Badel, Tony Britton, Cyril Cusack and more.
The new series has been updated to fit into a modern world and has more scope to allow viewers more of an insight into who the Jackal really is. Redmayne describes it as "a completely different piece" that has "been reconceived and contemporised with a new target".
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Alongside Redmayne, the series will also star Lashana Lynch (Bob Marley: One Love) as a British intelligence officer who is intent on finding the Jackal, resulting in an epic chase between the pair.
As per the synopsis: "An unrivalled and highly elusive lone assassin, the Jackal (Eddie Redmayne) makes his living carrying out hits for the highest fee.
"But following his latest kill, he meets his match in a tenacious British intelligence officer (Lashana Lynch), who starts to track down the Jackal in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase across Europe, leaving destruction in its wake."
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The rest of the cast includes Money Heist's Úrsula Corberó, The Crown's Charles Dance and Game of Thrones's Richard Dormer, to name a few.
Of course, Redmayne is known for his roles in The Theory of Everything, The Danish Girl, the Fantastic Beasts films and, more recently, Netflix's The Good Nurse.
Similarly, BAFTA Award-winning actress Lynch is known for her roles in No Time To Die, The Woman King and Matilda the Musical.
The Day of the Jackal will be coming to Sky and NOW on Thursday 7th November.
Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
