The road that the upcoming film “The Current War” took to its upcoming theatrical release has been windy with plenty of massive potholes in its way. First, the film debuted at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival to a less-than-favorable response. This led to a massive re-tooling of the film. Then came the allegations that hit producer Harvey Weinstein, leaving the distribution of the historical biopic up in the air. Now, years after its initial debut, “The Current War” is finally ready for the spotlight.
As seen in the new trailer for the film, “The Current War” tells the true story of Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and Nikola Tesla as they wage a war over the right to control the electrical technology that will power the nation moving forward. The corporate feud between the energy titans was legendary.
“The Current War” stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Edison, Nicholas Hoult as Tesla, and Michael Shannon as Westinghouse. The film is directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, who is probably best known for his charming indie film, “Me, Earl and the Dying Girl.”
“How far would you go to be remembered or to win was also a question that I had asked before reading the script, and wanted to explore that part of,” the filmmaker said (via EW). “Hopefully people will see a period film that is modern and relatable, not stodgy and old-fashioned. They were young men rejecting the past and changing the world, and hopefully the film puts you in their shoes.”
He went on to talk about the long process of bringing the film to theaters, “It’s been hard to move on because you’ve had this unfinished work that you care about and you’ve struggled to wrestle into shape, and finally you have this opportunity to get this out into the world. I’m ready for an epilogue to this story that’s actually a happy ending after a few years of it being a bit of a struggle for so many involved.”
“The Current War,” after a tumultuous post-production process, is now scheduled to arrive in select theaters on October 4, before launching nationwide a week later on October 11.