'Child 44': Five things you might not know

As "Child 44" makes its international debut this week, starting with an April 15 general release in France and Belgium before rolling out around the globe, now's the time to bone up on the thriller's trivia.

1) Tom Rob Smith's searing debut was published in 2008, based on the true story of profligate 1980s serial killer Andrei Chikatilo. But while "Child 44" gathered praise from readers and literary critics alike, with a Man Booker Prize longlisting and Galaxy Book Award win for its author, sequels "The Secret Speech" (2009) and "Agent 6" (2011) haven't been subject to similar film deals.

2) Although the "Child 44" sequels haven't yet been picked up for adaptation -- or if they have, any announcements are being held back and carefully timed -- Smith's fourth book has already been optioned, a criminal drama of divided family loyalties called "The Farm," with BBC Films and Shine Pictures involved in the adaptation.

3) Swedish links run throughout the production, with Smith himself of Swedish-English parentage, and Noomi Rapace well known as Lisbeth Salander, lead character in Stieg Larsson's "Millennium" series. Also in the film is Swedish actor Joel Kinnaman, who appeared opposite her in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," and worked for Swedish "Child 44" director Daniel Espinosa in both his previous films, "Easy Money" and "Safe House." Rapace also co-starred with "Child 44" lead Tom Hardy in 2014 criminal drama "The Drop"; Kinnaman held the main role in "Robocop," which had Gary Oldman as a supporting character.

4) This is Paddy Considine's fifth film with a Russian connection, perhaps unusual for such a versatile actor whose resumé resists typecasting so well: "The Double" was based on a Dostoyevsky novella, "Last Resort" followed the arrival of a Russian migrant mother and son in England, there was illicit plutonium drama "Pu-239," and "The Bourne Ultimatum" started by showing how its title character evaded capture in Moscow.

5) But by contrast, screenwriter Richard Price, who adapted "Child 44" for film, is better known for his attention to modern American life rather than the Soviet backdrops of Smith's first two books. He supplied treatments for "The Color of Money," Spike Lee drama "Clockers" (based on Price's own 1992 novel), and made various contributions to "The Wire," "Criminal Justice," and "NYC 22." There's room for speculation on a return to his historical area of expertise, though, as the "Child 44" novels swapped Russia for New York with series closer "Agent 6."