Jodie Comer (Killing Eve, The Bikeriders, The End We Start From) is heading toward disturbing events after signing on to her latest film project with Kenneth Branagh, The Last Disturbance of Madeline Hynde. Branagh wrote and will direct the new film. Plot details are scarce, but Deadline’s exclusive report says The Last Disturbance of Madeline Hynde is a contemporary psychological thriller, with production kicking off in August in the UK.
Belfast producers Tamar Thomas, Laura Berwick, Becca Kovacik, Matthew Jenkins, Maximum Effort’s Ashley Fox, and Johnny Pariseau will join Branagh for the new film.
As Deadline points out, Comer’s signing onto the project is a significant boon for Branagh’s latest yarn. She’s an extraordinarily busy actress, so something about Branagh’s project must have caught her attention. After wrapping Killing Eve, Comer joined the cast of the Jeff Nichols crime drama The Bikeriders. Comer plays Kathy in the upcoming film, which also stars Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Boyd Holbrook, and more.
The Bikeriders is a furious drama following the rise of a fictional 1960s Midwestern motorcycle club through the lives of its members. Inspired by Danny Lyon’s iconic book, The Bikeriders immerses you in the look, feel, and sounds of the bare-knuckled, grease-covered subculture of ’60s motorcycle riders. Kathy (Comer), a strong-willed member of the Vandals who’s married to a wild, reckless bike rider named Benny (Butler), recounts the Vandals’ evolution over a decade, beginning as a local club of outsiders united by good times, rumbling bikes, and respect for their strong, steady leader Johnny (Hardy). Over the years, Kathy tries her best to navigate her husband’s untamed nature and his allegiance to Johnny, with whom she feels she must compete for Benny’s attention. As life in the Vandals gets more dangerous, and the club threatens to become a more sinister gang, Kathy, Benny, and Johnny are forced to make choices about their loyalty to the club and each other.
Early buzz for The Bikeriders is ultra-positive, with the film earning an 85% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes after its world premiere at Telluride. Amidst plumes of dust and the smell of gasoline, Jeff Nichols (Mud, Midnight Special, Take Shelter) directs from a script he wrote inspired by the Danny Lyon book of photography.
Kenneth Branagh’s last two films, Death on the Nile and A Haunting in Venice, continue the filmmaker’s revival of Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective created by world-famous novelist Agatha Christie. While The Last Disturbance of Madeline Hynde departs from Poirot, Branagh’s keen eye for mystery and thrillers continues in his latest project. I thoroughly enjoyed A Haunting in Venice and look forward to watching Branagh and Comer collaborate for another intense thriller. How about you?