It was previously unclear whether Lashana Lynch or Redmayne would return for the next season - as it would have spoiled the twist ending in the Peacock adaptation, whose finale aired on December 12.
The first season reached 4.5 million viewers in the UK after 26 viewing days, making the thriller series – starring Redmayne and Lynch – the most popular new series ever launched on Sky, whether scripted or not.
On Peacock, the series was in the top five original streaming series in the US during its opening weekend, based on preliminary Nielsen data. The NBCUniversal streamer and Sky Atlantic renewed The Day of the Jackal for a second season last month.
The series is based on a 1971 novel by Frederick Forsyth, which was previously adapted into a 1973 feature film. The series follows a cat-and-mouse game between a chameleonic assassin (Redmayne) and an MI6 agent (Lynch) determined to catch him.
Oscar winner Redmayne recently revealed that he was initially reluctant to join The Day of the Jackal when he was first approached. “I loved the original movie and the Frederick Forsyth book,” he said. “So when the first three scripts arrived in my inbox, there was a level of hesitation because you don’t want to butcher something you love.”
But, “I read the first episode or two of this series and I found it so propulsive and compelling and the character so enigmatic, that I just wanted to know what happened next,” he added.
In fact, he said it was the ending twist and second season potential that sealed the deal: “When I signed on for the series, there was an aspiration for the Jackal story to continue. So I knew that was going to be the twist.”
The Day of the Jackal is now available to watch in full episodes on SkyShowtime.
