It’s only taken two extra years, but The Current War with Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Shannon finally has a release date. We learned earlier this year that the arrival of a new distributor meant it would open this year, and now we know it will arrive in limited release on October 4th 2019, and everywhere on October 11th 2019.
The Current War debuted at TIFF in 2017, and was given an awards-friendly date of November 24th. Cumberbatch plays Thomas Edison with Shannon as his rival George Westinghouse as the two groundbreaking visionaries jockey to bring electricity to the world. Nicholas Hoult co-stars as Nicola Tesla, with Katherine Waterston and Tom Holland included in the cast.
What happened is the film got caught up in the whole Harvey Weinstein debacle, and when the company was shuttered it was left in limbo. Contributing to its problems was director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s dissatisfaction with the cut shown at TIFF, saying previously…
“I didn’t know what rock bottom was until that moment. I was completely shattered by one screening I knew I wasn’t ready for.”
Gomez-Rejon oversaw a new cut that is now ten minutes leaner and more focused. Could The Current War still be a dark horse awards season factor? I’m just glad we’re going to get a chance to find out.
