Jake Gyllenhaal & Benedict Cumberbatch in talks to join Rio thriller

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Criminy, is there anything that Benedict Cumberbatch isn't attached to these days? Let's make a list, shall we? He's got: THE MAN IN THE ROCKEFELLER SUIT, THE CHILD OF TIME, ROGUE MALE, THE CURRENT WAR, JUNGLE BOOK, HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS, THOR: RAGNAROK, and AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR all on the way between now and the end of his 2018 shooting schedule! When does he find time to sleep Wait, does he even need to? Are we sure that Cumberbatch isn't some kind of hybrid vampire actor who's able to cast a "duplication" spell on himself in addition to being sunlight-resistant? Hmm, I think I may be on to something here. I'll look into it and get back to you.

Today, word is circulating that maybe vampire Benedict Cumberbatch and scruffy heartthrob Jake Gyllenhaal are in talks to star in A BIGGER SPLASH director Luca Guadagnino's upcoming thriller entitled RIO. The StudioCanal feature that hails from a script written by PEAKY BLINDERS creator Steven Knight will tell the story of a reporter (Gyllenhaal) that travels to Brazil to visit a wealthy friend (Cumberbatch), who asks for help in faking his death. 

So far, both Gyllenhaal and Cumberbatch are on-board to produce the project via their Nine Stories Productions and Sunny March, respectively, with Adam Ackland and Riva Marker also set to produce. Rio will also star actors Whoopi Goldberg, Olivia Crocicchia, Nathalia Love, Nicholas Downs, and more.

In more recent projects news, Gyllenhaal is readying himself for the Cannes premiere of his most recent feature, Bong Joon-ho's OKJA, while Cumberbatch prepares to get his science on for The Weinstein Company’s The Current War, where he will play Thomas Edison opposite Nicholas Hoult's Nikola Tesla.

OKJA, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Seo-Hyun Ahn, Hee-Bong Byun, Steven Yeun, Lily Collins, as well as several others will make its Netflix debut on June 28, 2017. In the film Seo-Hyun Ahn will step into the role of Mija, a young girl who risks everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend – a massive animal named Okja. You can check out the teaser trailer for this feature in the above-posted video.