'Miss Marple': Jennifer Garner To Star In Young Reboot

This beloved classic is getting a facelift. Quite literally.

Disney has closed a deal for a big screen reboot of Agatha Christie's "Miss Marple" mystery novel series, and the House of Mouse is making substantial changes to the story. Deadline reports that, instead of the British grandma Jane Marple portrayed in the books and in previous big screen incarnations, the film series will instead feature a young, far more svelte amateur sleuth, to be played by Jennifer Garner.

Garner, of course, has plenty of screen experience when it comes to solving mysteries, starring in the longrunning TV spy show, "Alias." This will be a bit different; the novels, 12 in all, were written from the 1930-70's. Whether the films will stay in that considerable span of time, or be brought up to date has yet to be announced.

Marple has been played by a number of notable actors, both on TV and the big screen. The first films starred Margaret Rutherford, while Angela Landsbury took on the role in the star-studded "The Mirror Crack'd," which included Tony Curtis and Elizabeth Taylor.

For more on the new film, click over to Deadline.

Comments

[grm1984]

11:36 PM on 03/30/2011

She looks like a chipmunk. She's not talented.

[WayOutHere]

08:12 PM on 03/30/2011

This is just...WRONG, on so many levels.

[lynchzilla]

08:08 PM on 03/30/2011

Of course if Hollywood decided to cast an old lady in the role, the response would be "been there - done that" and "nobody has any new ideas anymore".

I've like Garner in every movie she's done; she has definitive screen presence. The thought of Jennifer Garner portraying Miss Marple as a "steaming hot bitch" is kind of magnetic!

[boscobear]

10:38 AM on 03/30/2011

What a waste of talent and money! I wonder how many nude scenes, car chases and gun fights this movie will have? Seriously, has anyone in charge of this fiasco evenr read a Miss Marple story?

[SeanMartin]

06:36 AM on 03/30/2011

I would say this was truly idiotic, but then I forgot: this is Hollywood.

[saskatoonie]

01:27 AM on 03/30/2011

Such a dearth in new original writing in Hollywood, come on, find some new stories to tell.

[BlackJAC]

10:18 AM on 03/30/2011

There are exactly 20 story archetypes out there.  They just keep changing the characters and settings.

[Nicholas Rowley]

03:21 PM on 03/30/2011

Good point there's a whole website devoted to the eternal constancy of story elements:

http://tvtropes.org/

[deweydecimal]

11:54 PM on 03/29/2011

Such promise shown in Alias wasted subsequent. I weep for what could have been.

[brazenliberal]

09:48 PM on 03/29/2011

As any fan of Agatha Christie knows, MISS Marple was NOT a grandma! She was never married - and in those days, in those books, she WAS a "spinster"! Agatha herself remains one of the best mystery writers in literature - so just leave her work as is. Don't try to modernize it by changing the key character to fit today's requirement for chicks in the lead. Instead, why not look for older women actresses who want good roles? Helen Mirren comes to mind, as does Judy Dench; and there is a great list of American actresses over 50 ... wasn't there one in particular who was so good at doing accents?!!! I think Meryl could redo her English accent, don't you?

[Nicholas Rowley]

10:37 PM on 03/29/2011

"MISS Marple was NOT a grandma!"
Well yes technically she wasn;t but she was based on Christie's grandmother and she definitely is up there in years, her increasing age being the mcguffin that places her in situations where murders will need to be solved in at least a few of the books.

[BlackJAC]

10:16 AM on 03/30/2011

You mean the same Judi Dench who's played M in the James Bond movies since GoldenEye?  The one that enjoys bourbon, has zero qualms about ordering Bond to his death and is totally willing to have him killed for mouthing off to her?

[Debru]

09:42 PM on 03/29/2011

You gotta realize: to Hollywood execs, a woman in her mid-thirties IS old.

O.K., seriously now, who do they think will be the audience for this? True fans of Miss Marple will stay home. Non-fans will also stay home. As absurd as it was to make Sherlock Holmes an action hero, there are a lot of action fans who went to see it without knowing or caring about the original Holmes. (Not to mention Robert Downey, Jr. fans--Garner definitely does not have that type of following.) I just don't see the same result with a cozy mystery.

[starbright]

10:43 PM on 03/29/2011

My thoughts exactly - who will pay their hard-earned money to see this? Why not just forget about Miss Marple and write an original female amateur detective character? Sometimes I think everyone in Hollywood is "winning". And when i say "winning", I mean "on drugs".

[BlackJAC]

10:22 AM on 03/30/2011

Since it's Disney, I'm guessing kids.
 
And Sherlock Holmes is a PI, which means having to deal with violent ruffians from time to time rather than sitting around in a well-appointed drawing room in a smoking jacket: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSQq_bC5kIw

[Nicholas Rowley]

04:05 PM on 03/30/2011

Yes but like I point out elsewhere the RDJ Holmes is really more like Nayland Smith than Holmes, which is fine but they should have simply made a Fu Manchu film instead.

[futurejd]

09:16 PM on 03/29/2011

Hollywood is totally out of ideas...just stop now

[HumbleGenius]

08:36 PM on 03/29/2011

Why the question mark? ;)

[mabinog]

07:54 PM on 03/29/2011

Jennifer would make a much better Mrs. Peel than a Mrs. Marple.

[brazenliberal]

09:49 PM on 03/29/2011

Now THAT' is a good idea!!

[wetcoastm]

06:17 PM on 03/29/2011

Leave Miss Marple alone. Just makeup another character and have her young. It is okay to have characters who are older women.

[Dunkleberger Karl]

06:11 PM on 03/29/2011

Margaret Rutherford; was 10x better than angela landsbury!

[moonstruck10]

05:58 PM on 03/29/2011

If the character is going to be in her 30s, then it's not "Miss Marple"--plain and simple.

[Victoria-nola]

07:01 PM on 03/30/2011

So true. The whole character was based on Miss Marple being "older" "invisible" and able to play at being "doddering" when necessary. Miss Marple played by a young woman is not the character. Very odd choice to "young up" this character.