In late 2017, actor Benedict Cumberbatch was set to reprise his American accent from Doctor Strange in The Current War, a historical drama akin to his Oscar-nominated turn in The Imitation Game. The “current” of the film’s title, of course, was a cheeky reference to the “war of the currents” that raged between Thomas Edison (Cumberbatch), George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon), and Nikola Tesla (Nicholas Hoult) in the late 19th century. Two years later, a new trailer has dropped for the film, because it hasn’t even been released yet.
That’s because The Current War, which also stars Cumberbatch’s Marvel Cinematic Universe colleague Tom Holland, was delayed indefinitely thanks to the Harvey Weinstein scandal. The Weinstein Company was set to distribute the film in yet another one of its Oscar rushes at the time. Alas, that distinction now falls to 101 Studios. (You can read more about the movie’s storied production history over at Deadline.)
Per the movie’s brief blurb on YouTube:
Edison. Westinghouse. Tesla. Three brilliant visionaries set off in a charged battle for the future in The Current War, the epic story of the cutthroat competition that literally lit up the modern world.
The Current War is now set to debut in select theaters on October 4th, with a wide release coming a few days later on October 11th. And judging by the new trailer’s emphasis on Cumberbatch and Holland especially, it’s a good bet that the new distributors are hoping for at least some bump from the actors’ Marvel recognition.
(Via Deadline)
