Benedict Cumberbatch will star in Guillermo Del Toro’s Crimson Peak alongside Emma Stone and Charlie Hunnam

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Benedict Cumberbatch is becoming the Nicolas Cage of good acting choices. The guy is showing up everywhere. From the BBC series SHERLOCK to two roles in Peter Jackson‘s HOBBIT films, as well as the anticipated STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, Cumberbatch is hitting the big time in all the right ways. His next choice is a great one as he will be taking the lead role in Guillermo Del Toro‘s haunted house movie CRIMSON PEAK.

Variety reports that Cumberbatch will star opposite PACIFIC RIM’s Charlie Hunnam and Emma Stone. The plot of the film is still unknown but Del Toro did previously share this about the plot:

It’s the turn of the century. So it’s at the turn of the century and half of the movie takes place in America, and the other half takes place in a crumbling mansion in Cumbria. And basically it’s a ghost story and gothic romance, trying to subvert the rules of the usual gothic romance…the first half is a love story, then that love story turns darker. And it’s at the same time a ghost story. I’m working at this moment with Lucinda Clarkson who is a really great playwright from the UK. She has the proper degree of perversity and intelligence to turn it into something interesting to watch.

I am just guessing here, but I would wager Cumberbatch will appear in the Cumbria portion of the story while the romance will be between Emma Stone and Charlie Hunnam. It is possible the roles could be reversed, but that seems like the safe bet.

Del Toro’s PACIFIC RIM is looking amazing so far, but I hope CRIMSON PEAK will share more in common with PAN’S LABYRINTH and THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE. That moody, quiet, atmospheric horror is my favorite kind of Del Toro. The movie is set to begin shooting in February of next year so I would venture to guess it would be released no earlier than Halloween 2014. But, with Del Toro, you never know.

Here is to hoping it feels like this: