The Day Of The Jackal series: cast, plot and everything you need to know

The Day Of The Jackal series sees Eddie Redmayne as the specialist hitman.
The Day Of The Jackal series sees Eddie Redmayne as the specialist hitman. (Image credit: Alamy)

Frederick Forsyth’s classic novel The Day Of The Jackal and the subsequent much-loved 1973 movie starring Edward Fox are set to be given a modern twist in a new Sky and Peacock Original series starring British Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne. 

The Theory of Everything and The Good Nurse star Eddie will play the assassin known only to authorities as 'The Jackal' in this reimagining, which gets to the heart of the infamous mercenary. Top Boy writer Ronan Bennett is behind the script, which is now set against the complex political climate of our contemporary world.

Here’s everything we know about The Day of The Jackal series so far…

Edward Fox in 1973 film The Day Of The Jackal.

Edward Fox in 1973 film The Day Of The Jackal. (Image credit: Universal Pictures)

The Day of the Jackal release date

The Day of the Jackal is a 10-part series that will be shown on NBC Universal streaming service Peacock in the US and Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria in 2024. Keep checking this page and we’ll keep you updated with the air date. 

The Day of the Jackal series plot 

The plot of The Day Of The Jackal series is being kept strictly under wraps but what we do know is that it will dig into the character of the legendary assassin The Jackal. We’ve been promised that, “while staying true to the DNA of the original story, this contemporary drama will delve deeper into the chameleon like ‘anti-hero’ at the heart of the story in a high octane, cinematic, globetrotting 'cat and mouse' thriller, set amidst the turbulent geo-political landscape of our time.”

De Gaulle is in the Jackal's sights...

General De Gaulle is in the Jackal's sights... (Image credit: Sky)

The Day of the Jackal series cast — Eddie Redmayne as assassin The Jackal

The hitman of The Day of The Jackal is played by Eddie Redmayne. The British star is used to playing chilling characters, having recently starred as killer nurse Charles Cullen in The Good Nurse. He won an Oscar for his turn as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything and plays Newt in the Fantastic Beasts movies. Eddie has also starred in Birdsong, The Trial of the Chicago Seven, The Danish Girl, Les Miserables, My Week With Marilyn and The Good Shepherd

Eddie Redmayne in The Good Nurse.

Eddie Redmayne in The Good Nurse. (Image credit: JoJo Whilden/Netflix)

Lashana Lynch as Bianca

The Day of the Jackal series cast also includes Lashana Lynch who will play Bianca, a tenacious law enforcement agent determined to catch The Jackal.

Lashana Lynch has previously starred in the Bond movie No Time To Die and she's part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the role of Maria Rambeau in the movies Captain Marvel, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. She was Miss Honey in Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical and recently finished filming on the Bob Marley biopic One Love.

Daniel Craig, , Lashana Lynch

Lashana Lynch with Bond star Daniel Craig. (Image credit: Mike Marsland/WireImage via Getty)

Who else is starring in The Day of the Jackal series?

Other cast of The Day of the Jackal include Úrsula Corberó, star of hit Netflix series La Casa De Papel (Money Heist), who play Nuria, someone at the heart of The Jackal’s personal life, but unaware of that he's a top assasin. 

Charles Dance (Game of Thrones, The King’s Man) plays Timothy Winthrop, Richard Dormer (Blue Lights, Fortitude, Game of Thrones) is Norman, Chukwudi Iwuji (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Split) plays Osita Halcrow, Lia Williams (The Capture, The Crown) is Isabel Kirby. 

Khalid Abdalla (The Crown, The Kite Runner) plays Ulle Dag Charles, Eleanor Matsuura (The Walking Dead, I Used To Be Famous) is playing Zina Jansone, Jonjo O’Neill (Andor, Bad Sisters) plays Edward Carver and Sule Rimi (Classified, Andor) plays Paul Pullman.

Some of the cast in The Day Of The Jackal.

Some of the cast in The Day Of The Jackal. (Image credit: Sky)

All about The Day of the Jackal novel by Frederick Forsyth

Prolific thriller writer Frederick Forsyth.

Prolific thriller writer Frederick Forsyth. (Image credit: Alamy)

Frederick Forsyth’s novel The Day Of The Jackal was published in 1971 and focuses on an English hitman called The Jackal who is contracted by a French dissident paramilitary organisation to kill the French president Charles de Gaulle. The assassin is a master of disguise and deception and the novel follows the deputy police commissioner Claude Lebel who is determined to catch him. Frederick Forsyth is a prolific British thriller writer whose other novels include The Odessa File, The Fourth Protocol and Avenger!.

The 1971 novel was a major success for Frederick Forsyth.

The 1971 novel was a major success for Frederick Forsyth. (Image credit: Penguin)

The Day of the Jackal previous film adaptations 

The original 1973 movie The Day Of The Jackal was directed by Fred Zinnemann and starred Edward Fox as the Jackal. Michael Lonsdale played the detective Lebel trying to catch him while Derek Jacobi, Michel Auclair and Tony Britton also starred.

In 1997 Bruce Willis starred in the movie The Jackal, about a ‘faceless’ assassin. The film also featured Richard Gere, Sidney Poitier and Jack Black but Frederick Forsyth refused to allow his name to be used in connection with it and director Fred Zinnemann battled with the studio to ensure the adaptation had a different title to the original film. 

Edward Fox as the Jackal disguising himself while on his mission in the 1973 movie.

Edward Fox as the Jackal disguising himself while on his mission in the 1973 movie. (Image credit: Universal Pictures)

Bruce Willis in 1997 movie The Jackal.

Bruce Willis in 1997 movie The Jackal. (Image credit: Universal Pictures)

Is there a trailer for The Day of the Jackal? 

Not yet as it’s still early days but as soon as a trailer for this series of The Day Of The Jackal is released we’ll post it on this page. In the meantime take a look at the 1973 film trailer for The Day Of The Jackal with Edward Fox below.

Behind the scenes and more on The Day Of The Jackal

This series of The Day Of The Jackal is written and adapted by Ronan Bennett, creator and writer of the critically acclaimed Top Boy. Internationally award-winning Director Brian Kirk (Game of Thrones, Luther, Boardwalk Empire) is the lead director.  

Gareth Neame and Nigel Marchant are Executive Producers for Carnival Films. Redmayne is also an Executive Producer, and Lynch a Co-Executive Producer on the project. Sam Hoyle is the Executive Producer for Sky Studios.  Sue Naegle serves as Executive Producer and Marianne Buckland as Co-Executive Producer. Christopher Hall is Producer and Emily Shapland is Co-Producer. Frederick Forsyth is Consulting Producer.

Nicholas Cannon
TV Content Director on TV Times, What's On TV and TV & Satellite Week

I'm a huge fan of television so I really have found the perfect job, as I've been writing about TV shows, films and interviewing major television, film and sports stars for over 25 years. I'm currently TV Content Director on What's On TV, TV Times, TV and Satellite Week magazines plus Whattowatch.com. I previously worked on Woman and Woman's Own in the 1990s. Outside of work I swim every morning, support Charlton Athletic football club and get nostalgic about TV shows Cagney & Lacey, I Claudius, Dallas and Tenko. I'm totally on top of everything good coming up too.