Rumors swirled the last week (like every week) regarding the casting for J.J. Abrams‘ Star Wars: Episode VII, with signs pointing to Benedict Cumberbatch being up for a role in the film. After all, he dropped out of Guillermo del Toro‘s Crimson Peak, which is shooting around the time of the sci-fi sequel, AND he worked with Abrams before, so it had to be true — right?
Obviously, that isn’t the case, as his reps issued a statement reading, “There is no truth to the rumour Benedict has been cast in Star Wars. I think the rumours are circling because JJ and Benedict have just recently had a wonderful time working together on Star Trek.” Thankfully we have news on a film he will be starring in and it’s one much more enticing than Abrams could dream up.
According to Deadline, he’s set to lead James Gray‘s Lost City of Z, which once had his 12 Years a Slave co-star Brad Pitt in the main role. Based on David Grann’s novel, the Sherlock star will play Col. Percy Fawcett, who embarks on a 1925 expedition in Brazil to find the legendary city of gold known as El Dorado but instead of returning with riches, he vanished and never returned at all. Adapted by Gray himself, hopefully this attachment means the project is moving forward, as it’s been awhile since any updates. Meanwhile, Gray has The Immigrant on the docket, which is likely a 2014 release via TWC, as well as a big-scale mob film for WB.
What do you think of Cumberbatch starring in Lost City of Z?