The standard opinion seems to be that the Paris Olympics opening ceremony was something of a complete clusterfuck, with Parisians reportedly fuming at everyone from Macron to the creatives for embarrassing them in the eyes of the world, so much so that the IOC has deleted its own highlights reel from social media. One thing exciting thing did come out of it though, the teaser trailer for Day Of The Jackal.
NBC dropped it during their coverage of the opening ceremony.
Fredrick Forsyth’s truly exceptional and iconic 1971 novel was adapted into the equally exceptional 1973 movie starring Edward Fox and Michael Lonsdale.
There was a comically awful Hollywood remake in 1997 that took barely the idea of an assassin the one word from the title. The Jackal starred Bruce Willis and Richard Gere in what remains a textbook example of what happens when people who don’t really understand source material get involved in adaptions.
In this latest, more promising-looking adaption, Eddie Redmayne plays the skilled assassin who makes his living killing targets for the highest bidder. He is pursued by a tenacious British intelligence officer (Lashana Lynch) and a cat-and-mouse chase across Europe developed as The Jackal closes in on his high-profile target.
The cast is rounded out by Charles Dance, Richard Dormer, Chukwudi Iwuji, Úrsula Corberó, Lia Williams, Khalid Abdalla, Eleanor Matsuura, Jonjo O’Neill, Nick Blood, Sule Rimi, and Florisa Kamara.
The Day of the Jackal will premiere on Peacock in the U.S. on November 7th.