<P> 20th Century Fox announced the project in December 2013 . Michael Green wrote the screenplay for a new film adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express . On June 16 , 2015 , it was reported Fox was in talks with Kenneth Branagh to direct . On November 20 , 2015 , it was announced that Branagh would both direct the film and star in the role of detective Hercule Poirot . He later said that he `` enjoyed finding the sort of obsessive - compulsive in ( Poirot ) rather than the dandy . '' </P>
<P> 20th Century Fox announced the project in December 2013 . Michael Green wrote the screenplay for a new film adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express . On June 16 , 2015 , it was reported Fox was in talks with Kenneth Branagh to direct . On November 20 , 2015 , it was announced that Branagh would both direct the film and star in the role of detective Hercule Poirot . He later said that he `` enjoyed finding the sort of obsessive - compulsive in ( Poirot ) rather than the dandy . '' </P>
who played the detective on the orient express
who played the detective on the orient express
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh