Benedict Cumberbatch Is Thomas Edison In New Photo From The Current War

With Sherlock all but confirmed to be over, it’s time for Benedict Cumberbatch to push full steam ahead with his film career. The actor is quickly becoming one of the hottest talents in Hollywood and thanks to a stunning Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as Doctor Strange, he’s well on his way to becoming a household name, too. Next up for him are two big, but very different projects, though each of them revolve around a war of sorts.

Of course, we’re talking about Avengers: Infinity War and The Current War. It’s the latter which is now in production, and keeping the actor from shooting his scenes in Marvel’s upcoming blockbuster. Though Joe and Anthony Russo’s superhero extravaganza is set to head in front of cameras next week, Cumberbatch’s commitments to The Current War mean that the filmmakers will be using a stand-in for him, with the actor only arriving at the end of production to record his lines and shoot some close-ups.

But I digress. It’s The Current War which is further along and today, we’ve got our first look at the Sherlock star as Thomas Edison in the film. This is far from the first time Cumberbatch has played a real-life figure (see: The Imitation Game and The Fifth Estate, among others), but it certainly sounds like another great role for him. Even though the photo above doesn’t reveal very much at all, nor does the actor look that different than he usually does, there’s still plenty of reason to be excited for the more grounded of the two wars that he’ll be involved in.

Directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), The Current War will follow Edison’s squabbles with “engineer/businessman George Westinghouse over the use of direct or alternating currents to power American homes in the 1880s.” With a cast that also features Michael Shannon, Nicholas Hoult, Katherine Waterston and fellow MCU member Tom Holland, there’s a considerable amount of talent in place here to bring this interesting piece of history to the big screen.

The Current War has no release date as of yet, but it’s expected to be with us later this year, presumably in the fall as it angles itself as an awards contender.