'The Day of the Jackal' Reveals Full Cast
Charles Dance, Lashana Lynch, and Richard Dormer will co-star in 'The Day of the Jackal'
Netflix/MGM/PBS
It has been a while since we checked in with the joint adaptation of The Day of the Jackal from Peacock and Sky. The project, based on the novel of the same name, is a fictionalized retelling of the failed assassination attempt of French President Charles De Gaulle in the mid-1960s and was initially announced in November 2022. In April 2023, Peacock and Sky announced they had cast Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne (Fantastic Beasts) to star as the titular Jackal. With filming now underway and Sky aiming for a 2024 release in the U.K., the rest of the cast has been confirmed, with Lashana Lynch (No Time To Die) as his main co-star Bianca, the MI-6 agent assigned to take the Jackal down.
The Day of the Jackal is a profoundly ambitious adaptation of Frederick Forsyth’s novel, a ten-part limited series (in this economy!), filmed across a global backdrop as Bianca relentlessly chases The Jackal across the planet in her ruthless chase to take him down. The big-budget series, from Downton Abbey producers Gareth Neame and Nigel Marchant of Carnival Films, also sports a massive cast that reads like a who’s who of British talent, including a raft of PBS favorites.
Prominent names joining Redmayne and Lynch include Charles Dance (And Then There Were None), featuring in the role of Timothy Winthrop, Richard Dormer (COBRA) as Norman, and Lia Williams (The Capture) as Isabel Kirby.
Lia Williams as DSU Gemma Garland in 'The Capture'
Universal International Studios Limited/Laurence Cendrowicz
Here’s the series logline:
The Day of the Jackal follows a professional assassin who is contracted by a French paramilitary dissident to kill French President Charles de Gaulle. The novel is split into three parts: "Anatomy of a Plot," "Anatomy of a Manhunt," and "Anatomy of a Kill." It has been reimagined as a contemporary story set amidst the current turbulent geo-political landscape and will delve deeper into the chameleon-like anti-hero.
Other co-stars announced today include Úrsula Corberó (La Casa De Papel aka Money Heist), Chukwudi Iwuji (The Split), Khalid Abdalla (The Crown), Eleanor Matsuura (The Walking Dead), Jonjo O’Neill (Andor), and Sule Rimi (Classified). Ronan Bennett (Top Boy) is adapting the series and wrote all episodes, with director Brian Kirk (Luther) helming. Christopher Hall and Emily Shapland are Producing with Forsyth as Consulting Producer.
Redmayne and Lynch are credited as executive producers, along with Sue Naegle, Marianne Buckland, Naeme and Marchant for Carnival Films, and Sam Hoyle for Sky Studios.
The Day of the Jackal is confirmed to air on Sky in the U.K. in 2024 and to follow on Peacock soon after.
