You’ve seen him as Marvel’s Doctor Strange and watched as he circled the jaws of depression for Patrick Melrose, but for his next role, Benedict Cumberbatch is about to be swept up Brexit. Yes, the Infinity War star is preparing to portray a Leave campaigner and today, some new set pics have rolled in from the upcoming TV series.
Coming to us by way of Channel 4, Cumberbatch has been cast in the role of Dominic Cummings, the leading strategist and Campaign Director of Vote Leave, for a one-off drama that’s set to take us the behind the scenes of Brexit, the inescapable term given to the impending withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.
The vote was cast in the summer of 2016, of course, when just over half of the UK’s population (51.9%) voted to exit the EU. That set in motion a chain of events that are still being felt to this day and, frankly, will continue to shape the country’s future for many years to come.
Brexit – the TV show, not the UK’s impending departure – is written by the award-winning James Graham and directed by Black Mirror‘s Toby Haynes. It also stars Skyfall‘s Rory Kinnear as Craig Oliver, the then-Prime Minister David Cameron’s Director of Communications, and John Heffernan of The Crown. He’ll be playing Matthew Elliott, political lobbyist and Chief Executive of Vote Leave. It’s Cumberbatch who’s featured in these new set photos though and as you’ll see in the gallery down below, he looks a lot different than he usually does.
From what we understand, Brexit is only the working title for Channel 4’s upcoming series, though with filming well underway now over in the UK, it shouldn’t be much longer before we have firm details on Cumberbatch’s next TV gig, which is being described as so:
Everyone knows who won. But hardly anyone knows how. The drama is said to be looking at the ‘anatomy of a modern data-driven election campaign, and the divisive figures driving it from the shadows.
Details of Brexit‘s ETA remain locked up in the Houses of Parliament, but we’ll be keeping a close eye on what may well be one of Benedict Cumberbatch’s more exciting TV roles since Sherlock, so be sure to stay tuned.