Why ‘Day of the Jackal’ Season Finale Delivered a Twist Ending for Eddie Redmayne’s Hitman Character

[This story contains major spoilers from the Day of the Jackal season finale.]

When The Day of the Jackal executive producers Gareth Neame and Nigel Marchant took on a TV remake of Frederick Forsyth’s 1971 historical novel, they had a dilemma.

Should they kill off the chameleonic assassin played by Eddie Redmayne, as happened in the original 1973 movie? Or have him survive for a second season and another possible multi-season franchise?

As viewers saw during the Sky and Peacock series’ riveting two-episode finale (released on Thursday night), the Jackal — in a shock twist — survives the 10-episode first season, and it’s Bianca Pullman, Lashana Lynch’s MI6 agent who pursued Redmayne’s Jackal across Europe, who meets a grisly death in the end.  

Of course, that’s a flip ending to Fred Zinnemann’s 1973 film adaptation where Lebel, the reluctant detective played by Michael Lonsdale, ultimately kills the Jackal just as the hired killer reloads his rifle for another shot. But saying goodbye to Redmayne’s Jackal wasn’t the plan, as a second season of the spy thriller has already been ordered. The original streaming drama has became the most popular new series to ever launch on Sky.

“Of course, we’re in the business of series television, and there was the idea of sustainability for a returning series. So it was a decision we made quite early on, that we wanted in our version for the law enforcement person to be killed and for our assassin to go on,” Carnival executive producer Neame told The Hollywood Reporter.  

The TV series is based on the 1971 novel by Forsyth, which was earlier adapted into the 1973 feature film. As much as the Jackal, or “Charles,” as his wife (played by Ursula Corbero) calls him in the Peacock spy thriller, is a baddie, Redmayne’s character has proved to be as charismatic and popular with audiences as Edward Fox was in the original film.

Fellow Carnival executive producer Marchant says the Jackal’s complex personality and motivations are what kept viewers engaged as they waited to see if he could pull off his mission to assassinate a tech billionaire (played by Khalid Abdalla) and escape the pursuing Bianca, who is equally adept at lies and manipulation as the killer she chases to get what she wants.

“It really goes back to the original source material: Frederick’s novel and the subsequent movie. You do root for him and you forget he’s an assassin, that he’s a killer,” Marchant argued.

Of course, the finale of The Day of the Jackal series left enough cliffhanger clues to keep viewers wanting more in the upcoming second season from creator and exec producer Ronan Bennett.

For example, the Jackal has still not been paid for his successful assassination, and his wife has disappeared, leaving Redmayne to look for her and his family. “There’s some serious bit of unfinished business,” a coy Neame suggests.

So, expect another possible cat-and-mouse chase in the second season, only this time, Redmayne’s character will likely be looking for his family. “We actually know what his priority is, in terms of what his next mission will be. He’s trying to find [his family]. Whether he does or not, let’s see,” Marchant adds.

The Day of the Jackal has a hill to climb to match the success Carnival has had with its other hit franchise, Downton Abbey, after that TV series ran six seasons and spun off multiple movies. Neame, while hopeful of another franchise, isn’t sure the spy thriller will get as far as his multi-generational drama set in a Yorkshire country house and around the lives of the Crawley family and their staff.

“Our instinct is [Day of the Jackal] doesn’t have the sense of place and the soapiness that Downton had that suggested a show that could really run and run, a show about a family and about a place,” he argued.

Neame insisted getting to two or three seasons for The Day of the Jackal would be enough for fans “to root for it and wanting to come back, but without it being something that outstays its welcome and indeed loses its edge. We want to keep the show as surprising and edgy and twisty and turning as it’s been so far.”

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Day of the Jackal is now streaming season one on Peacock.