It’s been over 50 years since The Day Of The Jackal became a classic of the political thriller genre – a gripping cat-and-mouse pulse-raiser about a master assassin, known simply as ‘The Jackal’, and the officer intent on taking him down. Now, all these years later (and a few decades on, too, from 1997’s Bruce Willis-starring The Jackal), the story returns in series form with a stellar duo in those predator-and-prey roles: Eddie Redmayne as the seemingly shape-shifting sniper, and Lashana Lynch as his law-abiding nemesis. The chase is back on.
As Redmayne tells Empire in the Mickey 17 issue, the series both updates the story, now set in the present day, while keeping the old-school nature at the heart of it. “What I love about [the show] is this thrilling, very contemporary quality,” he explains, “but it has that analogue spycraft.” And in series form, the audience really has time to get under the Jackal’s skin. “What Edward Fox does so stunningly [in the ’73 film] is create a deeply magnetic and charismatic enigma,” says Redmayne. “But because [the film is] two-and-a-half hours long, you don’t learn anything about him. Now, over ten hours, you learn a lot. He starts in that place, and gradually cracks begin to open.”
As for Lynch, she thought she was done with screen spycraft. “After I shot No Time To Die, I said I’d never enter MI6 again,” she says. “And then this freaking script just came [along].” Expect the same determination – and flaws – she displayed as 007 to come to the surface here. “The fragmented energy of the cat-and-mouse narrative is very apparent,” she explains. “Especially for Bianca. She’s at a time in her life where she’s really reckoning with the years she’s put into MI6, and the mental energy it takes to stay determined when chasing someone who’s seemingly better than her.” Ready, aim, fire.
Read Empire’s full story on The Day Of The Jackal in the Mickey 17 issue – on sale Thursday 24 October. Pre-order a copy online here. The Day Of The Jackal comes to Sky and NOW from 7 November.