A cat- and - mouse game turns deadly
EMPIRE BRAVES THE SET OF SPY SHOW THE DAY OF THE JACKAL, TO WITNESS LASHANA LYNCH VS. EDDIE REDMAYNE
WORDS SOPHIE BUTCHER
PANIC HAS FLOODED the grand foyer of Müpa Budapest, Hungary’s prestigious concert hall, on a freezing January day. Hundreds of people are scattering down red-carpeted stairs and out of exits in the aftermath of an attack by the Jackal, the assassin driving a modern, serialised adaptation of Frederick Forsyth’s classic espionage novel. Empire has a front-row seat to the chaos, and watches as the Jackal himself, a lone assassin played by Eddie Redmayne, sneaks out amid the concert-goers in disguise. This is just one instance of the Jackal escaping MI6’s clutches, much to the chagrin of Lashana Lynch’s driven agent, Bianca, who is hot on his tail. “Ultimately, it’s a cat-and-mouse story, with the clever cop putting herself in the shoes of this man who doesn’t really exist,” producer Christopher Hall explains. Speaking with Empire on that frosty day, Lynch and Redmayne break down their characters’ respective sides of the chase.