Benedict Cumberbatch Heads to James Gray's 'The Lost City of Z'

So maybe there was another reason Benedict Cumberbatch left Guillermo Del Toro's Crimson Peak? A reason that had nothing to do with Star Wars? The speculation over the last few days is that he left the project because he was on the verge of being confirmed by Lucasfilm for a major role in the next Star Wars film, but now it appears Cumberbatch had something completely different in mind, like joining James Gray's long-developing The Lost City of Z.

Deadline reports that Cumberbatch will star in the adaptation of David Grann's novel, which has been sitting on Gray's back burner for a couple of years. Brad Pitt had been set to star, but it all came apart over behind-the-scenes issues. Pitt will continue to produce though his Plan B banner, but it will his Twelve Years A Slave co-star taking on the lead role now. The true story centers on Percy Fawcett, a soldier/explorer obsessed with the Brazilian Amazon, who claimed to have discovered the mythical "lost city of Z". After being scorned by his peers, Fawcett braved the jungle one more time with his son and another, only to never be heard from again.

No word on when this would shoot or fit into Cumberbatch's schedule. He's currently slated to star as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, and will be seen later this year in Twelve Years A Slave, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Fifth Estate, and August: Osage County.