Caffeinated Clint
Less than 24 hours after the rumour hit the net, Benedict Cumberbatch’s reps claim the actor is not reuniting with JJ Abrams for “Star Wars Episode VII”. And to that, I say ‘phew’. Look, as much I enjoy the guy’s work, I don’t think we want to be cross-pollinating the “Trek” and “Wars” worlds too much – it’s probably enough that JJ Abrams is involved in both, let alone bringing in castmembers from “Trek” to help fill the Naboo bars with familiar faces. Cumberbatch probably would’ve made a good Sith Lord – that’s the role he was rumoured to be playing – but having just played a similar role in “Star Trek Into Darkness”, his presence in “Star Wars” as well would be too on-the-nose. It’d be like bringing in a new Batman so soon after Nolan’s trilogy. Or rebooting the “Spider-Man” series. Unnecessary. Plenty of other options out there – aside from Greg Grunberg.
So that’s that, likely no Cumberbatch for “Star Wars Episode VII : Revenge of the Lens Flare”.
Looks like Cumberbatch, who recently dropped out of Guillermo del Toro’s “Crimson Peak” (adding fuel to the “Star Wars” rumours), will be busy anyway. According to Deadline, the “Sherlock” actor is starring in James Grey’s “Lost City of Z” for Brad Pitt’s Plan B Productions.
A film Pitt himself was originally eyeing as a starring vehicle, “Z” is based on the David Grann bestselling book about Percy Fawcett, who in 1925 trekked into the depths of the Amazon.
“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. ”
Yep, about time they remade “Congo”.
