Gal Gadot and Armie Hammer look suave in these new Death on the Nile images

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Exclusive: Kenneth Branagh talks filming Death on the Nile in the new issue of Total Film

(Image credit: Disney/Fox)

“I’m still quite sore about being sold a false bill of goods that we were going to shoot this actually in Egypt,” faux-grouches Armie Hammer, speaking to Total Film for the new issue (out this Friday) about Death On The Nile. “Then it moved to Morocco, and I was like, ‘Hey, that’s still cool’. And then it moved to Longcross [studios in Surrey], and I was like... ‘Wait a second – it’s Death On The Nile! We need sunshine!’” 

Well, yes. But just as director Kenneth Branagh had done on 2017’s Murder On The Orient Express, rays – and the great temples, the souks and floating palace, the SS Karnak – could all be fabricated in the British drizzle. Hell, even the Nile could be created.

“You have to deliver, I think, on these films,” muses Branagh over the phone on a windy, wet evening. “We’ve sort of made a contract with the audience to take them away. And particularly in the world we’re living with, a cinematic vacation I think is something that people might really appreciate: escaping to an amazing landscape. 

"We did visit real Egypt, but we also recreated the Temple of Abu Simbel to its 150-ft height. We built an absolutely enormous Karnak Nile steamer. We built a massive water tank for it to sit in and float in, so we could have real water, a real boat, real people, and...” he chuckles, “occasionally, in England, real sunshine.”

Hammer stars alongside Branagh and Gal Gadot in the upcoming adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel. See exclusive pictures from the movie – which also stars Emma Mackey (pictured), Annette Bening, and Russell Brand – above and below, both featured in the new issue of Total Film.

(Image credit: Disney/Fox)

Hammer and Gadot both discuss Death on the Nile at length in the new issue of Total Film magazine, when it hits shelves on this Friday, September 18. The magazine also features extended interviews with the cast of Black Widow. Death on the Nile reaches cinemas on October 9.

Check out the new covers of Total Film below; the one on the right is on its way to subscribers right now.

If you’re a fan of Total Film magazine, why not subscribe so that you never miss an issue? Sign up via MagazinesDirect, and with our latest offer you’ll get a year's subscription for half price! Plus you'll also get exclusive subscriber-only covers like the Black Widow one that's currently on its way to subscribers right now. (Ts & Cs apply, follow link for full details.)

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(Image credit: Total Film)
Jack Shepherd
Jack Shepherd
Freelance Journalist

Jack Shepherd is the former Senior Entertainment Editor of GamesRadar. Jack used to work at The Independent as a general culture writer before specializing in TV and film for the likes of GR+, Total Film, SFX, and others. You can now find Jack working as a freelance journalist and editor.