Sky and Peacock have confirmed that Academy, Tony and BAFTA award winning actor Eddie Redmayne will star in the new original television series "The Day of the Jackal" in the lead role of the Jackal. Redmayne will also serve as executive producer on the project. The series will be available on Peacock in the US and on Sky in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. NBCUniversal Global Distribution will handle international sales of the series. "We are excited to bring to life Ronan Bennett’s re-imagining of Forsyth’s revered thriller in the complex world in which we live today and are incredibly fortunate to have an actor of Eddie’s calibre as our Jackal," Gareth Neame, CEO & Executive Producer at Carnival Films said. "Paired with Ronan’s screenplay and Brian Kirk’s direction, this is a first-class creative team.”
"The Day of the Jackal" will be produced by Downton Abbey and The Last Kingdom producers Carnival Films, which is part of Universal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group and was commissioned by Sky Studios and Peacock. Production on the series will begin later this year.
Irish screenwriter and novelist Ronan Bennett will work as writer and showrunner for the series, and Brian Kirk will contribute as director alongside Gareth Neame and Nigel Marchant, who will work as executive producers on behalf of Carnival Films. Frederick Forsyth will serve as Consulting Producer, Christopher Hall as Producer, and Sam Hoyle as Executive Producer for Sky Studios.
The series is based on the seminal Frederick Forsyth thriller and subsequent award-winning 1973 film adaptation of the same name from Universal Pictures. Redmayne will work on the project soon after receiving BAFTA, SAG and Golden Globe nominations for his performance in Netflix’s "The Good Nurse," starring opposite Jessica Chastain. He has also starred in "The Theory of Everything," "The Trial of The Chicago Seven," "The Danish Girl" and "Les Miserables," among other projects.
We are excited to bring to life Ronan Bennett’s re-imagining of Forsyth’s revered thriller in the complex world in which we live today and are incredibly fortunate to have an actor of Eddie’s calibre as our Jackal. Paired with Ronan’s screenplay and Brian Kirk’s direction, this is a first-class creative team.” Gareth Neame CEO & Executive Producer, Carnival Films