Although Angelina Jolie is reported to have dropped out of Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel Murder on the Orient Express, which is to be shot in Malta and London, the film will have an A-list line-up of actors that includes Kenneth Branagh, Johnny Depp, Dame Judi Dench, Michelle Pfeiffer and Daisy Ridley.

The casting compares with the A-list pedigree that characterised Sidney Lumet’s 1974 take on Christie’s 1934 mystery novel, which starred Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman and Sean Connery.

The plot follows detective Hercule Poirot and his efforts to solve a murder mystery aboard the famous train.

Kenneth Branagh will both direct and play the role of Poirot. Angelina Jolie had initially been offered the role of Mrs Harriet Hubbard, a glamorous passenger deemed a suspect, a role that will now be taken by Michelle Pfeiffer.

Judi Dench will play Princess Dragomiroff, who hails from Russian royalty, while JohnnyDepp plays Ratchett, the man whose murder sets the plot into motion.

Shooting for Murder on the Orient Express is expected to begin in November, with locations including Malta and London. Green Lantern writer Michael Green penned the screenplay.

Fox will release the film on 22 November 2017.