Benedict Cumberbatch sheds light on our future in The Current War trailer

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

101 Studios is here to light up your Tuesday afternoon by sharing a new trailer for THE CURRENT WAR, an upcoming historical drama that tells the story of the cutthroat race between electricity titans Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse to determine whose electrical system would power the modern world.

Directed by ME AND EARL AND THE CRYING GIRL helmer Alfonso Gomez-Rejon from a script penned by THE GIVER screenwriter Michael Mitnick, THE CURRENT WAR stars DOCTOR STRANGE and GOOD OMENS alum Benedict Cumberbatch as tech visionary Thomas Edison, Nicholas Hoult as Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla, SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME star Tom Holland as Samuel Insull, Katherine Waterson (FANTASTIC BEASTS AND THERE TO FIND THEM) as the fair Marguerite Westinghouse, Tuppence Middleton (THE INTIMIDATION GAME) as Mary Edison and Michael Shannon as George Westinghouse, among others.

Here's the official synopsis for THE CURRENT WAR:

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.  Benedict Cumberbatch is Thomas Edison, the celebrity inventor on the verge of bringing electricity to Manhattan with his radical new DC technology.  On the eve of triumph, his plans are upended by charismatic businessman George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon), who believes he and his partner, the upstart genius Nikolai Tesla (Nicholas Hoult), have a superior idea for how to rapidly electrify America:  with AC current.  As Edison and Westinghouse grapple for who will power the nation, they spark one of the first and greatest corporate feuds in American history, establishing for future Titans of Industry the need to break all the rules.

Produced by Timur Bekmambetov, Basil Iwanyk, with executive production being handled by Martin Scorsese, Steven Zaillian, Garrett Basch, Michael Mitnick, Ann Ruark, Michele Wolkoff, Benedict Cumberbatch, Adam Ackland and Adam Sidman, THE CURRENT WAR looks to be pumping plenty of drama into Edison's real-life war for scientific supremacy, with many of the film's stars poised to deliver powerhouse performances along the scuffle.

While historical dramas aren't always my bag, I must confess that I am very intrigued by THE CURRENT WAR. Truth be told, I actually grew up next to a museum dedicated to the work of Nikola Tesla, who despite being framed as a charlatan in the trailer, went on to become a legend in the art of alternating current and electricity supply systems. It's taken quite some time for THE CURRENT WAR to reach the masses, but we're happy to report that the film will open in theaters on October 4, 2019.