THE DAY OF THE JACKAL Trailer (2024) __rsula Corber__, Eddie Redmayne, Lashana Lynch

THE DAY OF THE JACKAL Trailer (2024) __rsula Corber__, Eddie Redmayne, Lashana Lynch

THE DAY OF THE JACKAL Trailer (2024) Úrsula Corberó, Eddie Redmayne, Lashana Lynch, Jackal series
© 2024 - Peacock
The Day of the Jackal opens on a German janitor seemingly going about his evening. He’s in his 60s, moves a little slower than he used to, and minds his own business. He’s got a smoker’s cough. He’s quiet. We glean rather quickly, though, that this is a façade. The man (beware, spoilers as to who!) is on a mission and has a target. As the tension ratchets up, we follow the janitor through a nail-biting heist sequence. He gets the job done, makes his way home, and heads to the bathroom to clean up. This process includes him rather literally removing his face.

For the audience, an understandable reaction might be: Wait, that was Eddie Redmayne the whole time?

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The reveal sets up 10 hours of double-crosses and deceptions. It’s not the only time you’ll see Redmayne, as the titular Jackal, assuming an unrecognizable disguise. “One of the things I love about acting is getting to shift what you look like and how you sound,” Redmayne tells Vanity Fair. “We certainly had room to play.”

This feels appropriate for Peacock and Sky’s new take on The Day of the Jackal (premiering November 7), adapted by Ronan Bennett from Frederick Forsyth’s classic 1971 cat-and-mouse novel—and made with great affection for the 1973 film of the same name, which went on to box office and awards success. Fifty-plus years later, executive producers Gareth Neame and Nigel Marchant (Downton Abbey, The Last Kingdom) wanted to take the bones of the story, about a professional assassin contracted for a perilous new job, and apply them to a contemporary setting. Marchant acknowledges the trickiness of the sell: “You’re always nervous about taking these things on, because you don’t want to spoil the original—why do it, and why now?”

While we have Redmayne in the mysterious titular role and many cheeky references to the original, this Jackal feels both expanded and rebranded. For starters, instead of the low-fi transformational methods employed in the novel—shoe polish, wigs—this series meets the modern moment, acknowledging that some crafty passport forgery would no longer get the job done. “We’re photographed and videoed all the time now, so how can this person be chameleonic? How can he change his identity?” Marchant says. “That’s where we got into the prosthetics and how we changed [Eddie’s] appearance.” The extensive makeup and costume work makes for both entertaining viewing and a commentary on how a man like this would need to operate in the 2020s.

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Redmayne is no stranger to such physical work, having won an Oscar for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything and still deep into his decorated run on Broadway as Cabaret’s Emcee. He worked with his frequent movement coach Alex Reynolds on the many faces of the Jackal. “We found this brilliant interview of David Bowie back from the ’70s or ’80s, a rare occasion in which he was interviewed just as himself rather than any huge costumes,” Redmayne says. “He was talking about using costume and makeup and personas as a disguise to mask himself. That was intriguing.”

The show also delves more into its antihero’s private life, involving a new character played by Úrsula Corberó—a big jump from the source material, which kept the Jackal at a great remove. Redmayne felt the challenge of that added psychological depth: “Could you make someone who is doing these horrific things someone an audience still wanted to succeed?”

The answer to that dilemma lurked in the very DNA of Day of the Jackal. To make us care about the Jackal, the show would need to introduce a delicious new adversary.

Eddie Redmayne is getting his James Bond on for another literary adaptation of an iconic assassin tale.

The Academy Award winner leads the Peacock and Sky adaptation of “The Day of the Jackal,” based on Frederick Forsyth’s 1971 novel. The “contemporary reimagining” was announced as a series in November 2022.

Redmayne stars as lone assassin, the Jackal, who makes his living carrying out hits for the highest fee. But he meets his match in a tenacious British intelligence officer (Lashana Lynch) who is tracking down the Jackal in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase across Europe.

Úrsula Corberó, Charles Dance, Richard Dormer, Chukwudi Iwuji, Lia Williams, Khalid Abdalla, Eleanor Matsuura, Jonjo O’Neill, Nick Blood, Sule Rimi, and Florisa Kamara co-star. The teaser debuted during the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony on NBC and Peacock.

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The original “The Day of the Jackal” novel centered on assassination attempts on French president Charles de Gaulle in 1963 amid the Algerian independence, with The Jackal hired by the far-right Organisation de L’Armée Secrète to kill the president. Author Forsyth received an Edgar Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America in 1972.

The novel was previously adapted into Fred Zinnemann’s 1973 feature, also titled “The Day of the Jackal,” 1988 film “August 1” directed by Sibi Malayil, and 1997’s “The Jackal” starring Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, and Sidney Poitier.

For the Peacock series, “Public Enemies” scribe Ronan Bennett is showrunner, writer, and executive producer. “Game of Thrones” and “Luther” director Brian Kirk is the lead director and will also EP the series. Author Forsyth serves as a consulting producer on the show.

Redmayne and Lynch both executive produce, along with Gareth Neame and Nigel Marchant of Carnival Films, Sam Hoyle of Sky Studios, and Sue Naegle. Chris Hall produces.

“The Day of the Jackal” is Redmayne’s first major TV role and marks his return to the screen after starring in “Cabaret” on Broadway.

The series is produced by Carnival Films and distributed by NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution.

“The Day of the Jackal” premieres November 7 on Peacock. Check out the teaser below.

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