Benedict Cumberbatch Gets Yet Another Role

Benedict Cumberbatch and his weird name are all over the place this year. Sherlock may (yes, still) be on hiatus, but Cumberbatch has been keeping busy. From giving true villain-face in Star Trek: Into Darkness, to wearing that silly-looking wig as Julian Assange for the upcoming The Fifth Estate , to palling around dysfunctional-family-style with Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep in August: Osage County, Cumberbatch doesn't really seem to be struggling to find roles these days. And that's not even mentioning Five Years a Slave or those pesky Star Wars rumors. Now he's got one more to (possibly) add to the list: Benedict Cumberbatch might star Lost City of Z .

James Gray wrote the adaptation, which he will also direct. According to Deadline:

[The story follows] Percy Fawcett, who in 1925 headed into the depths of the Amazon jungles in Brazil. Fawcett was there to map the jungle and, hobbled by malaria, he discovered a mythical city he called The Lost City Of Z. Scorned by peers who claimed that this ancient kingdom was a fraud, Fawcett headed back into the jungle with his son and one other, braving the dangers of disease, insects, snakes, poison darts and other hazards to reinforce his discovery. None of them were ever seen again and it remains one of the great exploration mysteries of the 20th Century.

It sounds like some combination between Castaway and King Kong. Cumberbatch is in negotiations to play Fawcett, and the film is being produced by Brad Pitt's production company Plan B.

I think it's safe to say that if Benedict lands a part that a lot of people initially assumed Brad Pitt was set to play, he'll have definitely snaked himself a seat at the Hollywood leading men's big kid's table.