Benedict Cumberbatch To Lead James Gray’s ‘The Lost City Of Z’
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Only time will tell whether there’s any truth tothoseStar Wars Episode VIIrumors, but in the meantimeBenedict Cumberbatchhas booked himself a different juicy new role. The Brit actor is in negotiations forThe Lost City of Z, based onDavid Grann’s book about the real-life mystery of explorer Percy Fawcett.
The project has been developing for years, but this is the first major step forward we’ve heard about in quite some time.James Gray(We Own the Night) remains attached to direct from his own adapted screenplay. Hit the jump to get some background on the project, and to learn more about Fawcett’s fascinating story.
But Cumberbatch is a very good get, too. Since breaking out internationally with the BBC dramaSherlock, he’s quickly become one of the most in-demand actors working today. He has five movies opening this year alone: this spring’sStar Trek Into Darkness, plus the upcomingThe Fifth Estate,12 Years a Slave,August: Osage County, andThe Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug.
Next year will see him starring inThe Hobbit: There and Back Again, as well as the Alan Turing biopicThe Imitation Game. The recentStar Warstalk seemed supported, slightly, by Cumberbatch’s sudden and unexplaineddeparturefrom Guillermo del Toro’sCrimson Peak, but now it seems likely thatThe Lost City of Zwas the true culprit. Either that, or the guy just wants to take a well-deserved nap.
Here’s the description of Grann’s book, viaAmazon.com:
In 1925, the legendary British explorer Percy Fawcett ventured into the Amazon jungle, in search of a fabled civilization. He never returned. Over the years countless perished trying to find evidence of his party and the place he called “The Lost City of Z.” In this masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, journalist David Grann interweaves the spellbinding stories of Fawcett’s quest for “Z” and his own journey into the deadly jungle, as he unravels the greatest exploration mystery of the twentieth century.
Fawcett was apparently quite the adventurer.Amazon.comwrites that his friends and family “considered him to be near super-human” for having survived so many previous explorations, and it’s been reported that he was one of the inspirations for the Indiana Jones character.
The 37-year-old Cumberbatch seems a bit young for the part, since the real Fawcett was in his 57 when he disappeared with his 21-year-old son. Otherwise, though, he seems to have the intelligence and charisma to make it work. Do you think Cumberbatch is a good choice?
