Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch’s highly anticipated new thriller series The Day Of The Jackal premiered on Sky on Thursday, much to the delight of fans, and is reportedly the “most expensive series ever” of the station.
The Jackal (Eddie) is an elusive assassin who makes a living carrying out hits for the highest price.
But he soon meets his match in a tenacious British intelligence bid (Lashana) who tracks him down in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase across Europe.
Industry insiders say the budget for the series is set at a whopping £100 million, with Oscar winner Eddie pocketing £10 million in total for his role as the title character, according to The mirror.
However, most fans won’t know the partially true story behind the exciting reboot, based on Frederick Forsyth’s 1971 book of the same name.
Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch’s highly anticipated new thriller series The Day Of The Jackal premiered on Sky on Thursday.
It is said to be the broadcaster’s “most expensive series ever”, with a huge budget of £100m.
The book on which the 10-part series is based made comments on the political environment at the time of writing.
Eddie’s character, The Jackal, is a professional assassin hired by the OAS (Secret Armed Organization), which translates to “secret military organization” and was actually a real group.
In the original novel, the dissident parliamentary group planned to assassinate the then President of France, Charles de Gaulle, which is also a real plot that developed.
The group’s motive was to prevent Algeria from becoming independent from French rule, something the president was planning a referendum on in 1961.
In the book, her initial attempts to assassinate him were based on real life, however everything that follows is fictional.
The series is being made by Carnival Films and was commissioned by Sky Studios, who will then broadcast the anticipated series across the UK and much of Europe, as well as on US streaming service Peacock.
The Mirror also reports that the huge salary Eddie earned was “the highest ever paid to a star,” but that is now becoming the “norm” when deep-pocketed companies like Netflix, Apple and, in this case, are involved. , Peacock.
A source said: “Many TV companies and broadcasters are struggling with small budgets, but not with high-end dramas for a global audience that involves streamers.”
The Jackal (Eddie) is an elusive assassin who makes a living carrying out hits for the highest price.
Eddie’s character is hired by the OAS (Secret Armed Organization), which translates to “secret military organization” and was actually a real group.
In the book, her initial attempts to assassinate him were based on real life, however everything that follows is fictional.
“If you can make a deal with one of them, you can go completely broke.”
MailOnline has contacted Eddie’s representatives for comment.
Also starring are Chukwudi Iwuji from Guardians of the Galaxy, Charles Dance from Game of Thrones and Ursula Corbero from Money Heist.
It was adapted for the small screen by Ronan Bennett, the creator and writer of the critically acclaimed English crime drama Top Boy.
The Day of the Jackal was directed by Brian Kirk, whose credits include Game of Thrones and Luther.
The series is produced by Carnival Films, which is part of Universal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group.
Eddie serves as executive producer, Lashana as co-executive producer, and author Frederick as consulting producer.
Executive producers Gareth Neame and Nigel Marchant, who worked on Downton Abbey, spoke to GQ about the project.
Eddie serves as executive producer, Lashana as co-executive producer, and author Frederick as consulting producer.
Gareth said: “We both loved the book and saw the film when we were children. I have seen the film many times throughout my life and have always had a lot of respect for it.”
While they were initially cautious about tackling source material that carries so much esteem, expanding the story through television episodes seemed too good an opportunity to turn down.
“It’s such an iconic and exciting story that to revisit it in a contemporary context, with all the benefits of a multi-episode show… we thought it would be really interesting to take this highly regarded intellectual property and develop it in this way.”
Nigel agreed: “I think (this) kind of title is on a lot of people’s consciousness… And so yeah, what’s the benefit of telling this on a bigger canvas?”
Answering the main question of why the series is set in the 2020s rather than the ’60s of the book and film, Gareth simply said: ‘If we had stayed in the past, why do it? “You can’t improve the movie.”
Day of the Jackal premieres on Sky Atlantic and Now TV on Thursday 7 November