Eddie Redmayne Will Play a Professional Assassin in THE DAY OF THE JACKAL Series for Peacock
Eddie Redmayne (Fantastic Beasts, The Good Nurse) is set to play a professional assassin in a new series project set up at Peacock titled The Day of the Jackal, and he will play The Jackal.
In the story, The Jackel is a hitman that is hired by a French paramilitary dissident to kill French President Charles de Gaulle in 1962. The project is based on the book series by Frederick Forsyth as well as the 1973 film adaptation from Universal Pictures.
As you might expect from Hollywood, the story is being reimagined in a contemporary setting “amidst the current turbulent geo-political landscape and will delve deeper into the chameleon like ‘anti-hero’.”
The series is being developed by Top Boy creator Ronan Bennett, who writes and serves as showrunner. It will be directed by Brian Kirk, who is known for his work on Game of Thrones and Luther.
Producer Gareth Neame said in a statement: “We are excited to bring to life Ronan Bennett’s re-imagining of Forsyth’s revered thriller in the complex world in which we live today, and are incredibly fortunate to have an actor of Eddie’s caliber as our Jackal. Paired with Ronan’s screenplay and Brian Kirk’s direction this is a first class creative team.”
Here’s a description from the book:
The Jackal. A tall, blond Englishman with opaque, gray eyes. A killer at the top of his profession. A man unknown to any secret service in the world. An assassin with a contract to kill the world's most heavily guarded man.
One man with a rifle who can change the course of history. One man whose mission is so secretive not even his employers know his name. And as the minutes count down to the final act of execution, it seems that there is no power on earth that can stop the Jackal.
Does this sound like a series that you’d enjoy watching?
Source: Deadline