Nowadays, most people no longer associate Benedict Cumberbatch with the British period pieces that first started his ascent to stardom. He’s a household name for moviegoers, but more so as Dr. Stephen Strange in the MCU films or his voice and motion capture work as Smaug, Shere Kahn, and The Grinch.
Cumberbatch still does plenty of acting work beyond that, though, and his next film falls more in line with his turns in espionage thrillers like “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and “The Imitation Game.” He’s a spy again in “The Courier,” formerly titled “Ironbark,” only this time the backdrop isn’t World War II or the early 1970s, but instead the 1960s during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
READ MORE: ‘Ironbark’: Benedict Cumberbatch Is Stellar In This Real-Life Cold War Thriller [Review]
The actor plays a British businessman who helps the CIA infiltrate the Soviet missile program and stave off a nuclear war between the world powers. Here’s the official synopsis:
THE COURIER is a true-life spy thriller, the story of an unassuming British businessman Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) recruited into one of the greatest international conflicts in history. At the behest of the UK’s MI-6 and a CIA operative (Rachel Brosnahan), he forms a covert, dangerous partnership with Soviet officer Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze) in an effort to provide crucial intelligence needed to prevent a nuclear confrontation and defuse the Cuban Missile Crisis.
“The Courier” marks the second major theatrical release for director Dominick Cooke. His last film, “On Chesil Beach,” came out in 2017. He and Cumberbatch worked together before in 2016 on a television adaptation of “Richard III.” The TV-film was Cooke’s first directorial effort and part of “The Hollow Crown,” a seven-film anthology of William Shakespeare‘s history plays for BBC 2.
READ MORE: Siarose Ronan Is ‘On Chesil Beach’ In Ian McEwan Adaptation [TIFF Review]
Joining Cumberbatch in the cast of the film is none other than “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” star Rachel Brosnahan, along with Merab Ninidze and Jessie Buckley. Cumberbatch and Cooke also serve as executive producers for “The Courier” alongside screenwriter Tom O’Connor. O’Connor’s most famous writing credits next to this film are 2017’s “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” and its to-be-released 2021 sequel that’s in post-production now.
“The Courier” premiered last year at Sundance under a different title, “Ironbank,” to positive acclaim. Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate acquired US distribution rights shortly after the festival, with a scheduled release date of August 28, 2020. However, like so many other films in the last year, COVID prompted a postponement to October. The film was then delayed again to its current release date this March.
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“The Courier” is a return to form of sorts for Cumberbatch, as the period-drama feels like the kind of material he thrived with earlier in his career. How will critics and audiences take to it? Find out March 19, when “The Courier” hits theaters.