The Current War trailer sees Benedict Cumberbatch play Thomas Edison

The actor stars alongside Michael Shannon, Nicholas Hoult, Katherine Waterston, and Tom Holland

Clarisse Loughrey
Monday 11 September 2017 09:57 BST
Comments
Trailer released for Current War starring Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch loves to play a man of scientific genius.

From Sherlock to Doctor Strange to Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, Cumberbatch now takes on a historical figure both equally brilliant and infamous in his techniques: Thomas Edison, who developed the likes of the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and, of course, the electric light bulb.

He stars in The Current War, which takes on the peculiar moment in history which saw the greatest minds of the late 19th century battle to introduce a marketable and sustainable electricity system, the main players being Edison's own Edison Electric Light Company and Westinghouse Electric Company.

Michael Shannon will play George Westinghouse, while Nicholas Hoult will take on the role of Nikolai Tesla. Fantastic Beasts' Katherine Waterston and Spider-Man: Homecoming's Tom Holland will also star, in a film directed by Me and Earl and the Dying Girl's Alfonso Gomez-Rejon.

Cumberbatch already has a fairly busy couple of years ahead of him; he'll be returning to the role of Doctor Strange for a cameo in Thor: Ragnarok and in Avengers: Infinity War, while also lending his voice to Shere Khan in Andy Serkis' Jungle Book and the Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas.


The Current War hits UK cinemas 5 January 2018.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in