By Will Ashton
Well, it turns out Benedict Cumberbatch won’t be in Guillermo del Toro’s next project after all.
The British actor has just left the project Crimson Peak, which del Toro has been preparing as his next directorial project with shooting starting this January. Heat Vision reports that the departure from the project was apparently not driven by scheduling conflicts, but no official reason has been given at this time.
Cumberbatch makes the second actor to drop out of Crimson Peak, as Emma Stone left the project with an actual scheduling conflict, Cameron Crowe’s upcoming untitled project, which begins filming this fall. Mia Wasikowska was able to fill in for her role, though, and no word has been given as far as who del Toro is planning on recasting for the part.
Before he shoots Crimson Peak, del Toro will be filming a pilot for FX of The Stain, based on his novel of the same name. Cumberbatch will next be seen in August: Orange County, 12 Years a Slave and The Fifth Estate this fall, both of which are set to premiere at TIFF next month. He will also be voicing the infamous dragon Smaug in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug this December.
Update: Universal has just announced that Tom Hiddleston, best known as Loki in the Marvel movies, has been casted in Cumberbatch’s role.
