According to Deadline, 20th Century Studios is in the process of developing a brand new film adaptation of And Then There Were None, based on acclaimed author Agatha Christie‘s mystery novel of the same name. Described as a fresh new take on the classic story, the film will be penned by husband and wife writing duo Anna Waterhouse and Joe Shrapnel, who co-wrote the screenplay for Kristen Stewart’s Seberg film released last year.
First published in 1939, the And Then There Were None novel follows the story of 10 strangers who was invited to an isolated island by an unknown host. Each of them has a secret to hide and a crime for which they must pay. The strangers include a reckless playboy, a troubled Harley Street doctor, a formidable judge, an uncouth detective, an unscrupulous mercenary, a God-fearing spinster, two restless servants, a highly decorated general and an anxious secretary. During the course of their stay, things turn for the worse when the house guests were murdered one by one.
According to Agatha Christie, this novel was the most difficult story she has ever written. It is also the world’s best-selling mystery novel of all time with over 100 million copies sold worldwide. And Then There Were None is Christie’s most adapted novel with 10 film adaptations and eight series adaptations including Rene Clair’s 1945 film and BBC’s 2015 miniseries starring Charles Dance and Douglas Booth.
This project comes after the critical and box office successes of star-studded murder mystery films such as Kenneth Branagh’s 2015 film adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot story Murder on the Orient Express with a gross over $351 million worldwide, as well as the recently released Agatha Christie-inspired Knives Out from Oscar nominee Rian Johnson. Due to their success, sequels for both films have already been announced with Branagh’s Death on the Nile scheduled to be released on October, while Johnson’s Knives Out 2 is currently in the development.