Thanks to Sherlock and Star Trek Into Darkness, Benedict Cumberbatch is ridiculously in demand, so much so that just last week he decided to drop out of Guillermo Del Toro’s Crimson Peak. Now we might know what film he wants to do instead (and no, it’s not Star Wars VII as completely speculative rumours would have you believe), as Deadline reports that he’s signed up for The Lost City Of Z.
James Gray is directing, resurrecting a project he’s been trying to get off the ground for years, but which fell apart after Gray got into a fight with Paramount over his pay and his star, Brad Pitt, went off to make Killing Them Softly.
Based on David Grann’s novel, which follows ‘Percy Fawcett (the role Cumberbatch is in talks to play), 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.’
Pitt still attached to produce, and it appear Gray has the money he needs to get the film made.