From Smaug in The Hobbit to Shere Khan in Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle by way of The Grinch, Benedict Cumberbatch has lent his distinct pipes to many a devilish figure in his career. You could therefore argue that it was only a matter of time until the Doctor Strange star provided the voice of Satan himself, with Deadline reporting that Cumberbatch will do the honors in the Amazon Prime Video series Good Omens.
Author and showrunner Neil Gaiman revealed as such during a panel at the Television Critics Association, explaining the actor’s inclusion as follows:
“It’s a giant animated Satan. He turns up and we needed a performance that works. So we found a young British help that needed a lot of direction from Douglas… Benedict Cumberbatch.”
Douglas Mackinnon helms the fantasy series, which is based on Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s 1990 novel Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter.
Naturally, since there’s a Satan in the mix, the show also includes a God, who’s voiced by Frances McDormand. David Tennant, meanwhile, plays the demon Crowley, and Michael Sheen is the angel Aziraphale in a story that sees the pair attempt to sabotage plans for the Apocalypse, having grown accustomed to life on Earth. The comedy series will also feature the likes of Jon Hamm, Nick Offerman, Jack Whitehall, Miranda Richardson, Adria Arjona, Michael McKean, Anna Maxwell Martin and Mireille Enos.
Good Omens is produced by BBC Studios, Amazon Studios, Blank Corporation and Narrativia, with Gaiman, Mackinnon, Chris Sussman, Simon Winstone and Rob Wilkins serving as executive producers. The show is set to launch on Amazon in over 200 countries and territories on May 31st, 2019. In the meantime, you can catch Cumberbatch in Avengers: Endgame when the film hits theaters on April 26th.
