Benedict Cumberbatch Is Bringing the Book That Inspired James Bond to the Big Screen
Benedict Cumberbatch’s long-gestating passion project is finally stirring, with fresh movement on a big-screen take of the classic British thriller that helped inspire James Bond. With momentum building behind the scenes, all signs point to the spy-flavored adaptation taking shape in the coming year.
If you have been wondering what happened to Benedict Cumberbatch's long-teased Rogue Male, there is finally a pulse. It is not shooting yet, but Cumberbatch says the plan is to get the thing rolling next year, if his superhero cape will let him.
What Cumberbatch actually said
We haven't got a filming date yet, but it's something we're trying to slate for next year. We will make it, definitely... There are other huge commitments involving cloaks floating about.
That was on the SmartLess podcast with Sean Hayes, Jason Bateman, and Will Arnett. That last line is a pretty clear wink at his Marvel gig as Doctor Strange, which is always the scheduling elephant in the room.
So, what is Rogue Male?
It is a 1939 novel by Geoffrey Household about an unnamed English sportsman who takes a shot at a European dictator (it is basically Hitler without saying Hitler), gets captured and tortured, then slips back to England. From there, he holes up in the countryside while enemy agents hunt him down and the British authorities are not exactly on his side either. Cumberbatch has called it the original fugitive story and says it helped fuel Ian Fleming's thinking for Bond, which is a bold claim but tracks with the cat-and-mouse vibe.
Why this one matters to Cumberbatch
He has been circling it for years and clearly likes the moral gray zones. He has talked about how the protagonist is squeezed by both the people he opposes and the people who should be protecting him, and how those themes feel uncomfortably current. In other words, it is not just a period thriller to him.
How long has this been brewing?
Cumberbatch and his company SunnyMarch announced their Rogue Male movie back in 2016, with him set to star. They tapped Michael Lesslie (Macbeth, Assassin's Creed) to write the script and set it up at then-Fox Searchlight.
- 1939: Geoffrey Household publishes Rogue Male
- 1940: Twentieth Century Fox adapts it as Man Hunt
- 1977: The BBC makes a TV film version starring Peter O'Toole
- 2016: Cumberbatch and SunnyMarch announce a new film; Michael Lesslie boards as screenwriter; set at Fox Searchlight
- Now: Cumberbatch says they are aiming to film next year, schedule permitting
Previous versions
This is not uncharted territory. Hollywood got there fast in 1940 with Man Hunt, and the BBC took a swing in 1977 with Peter O'Toole headlining. The material clearly survives reinterpretation, which bodes well for a modern take.
The bottom line
No shoot date yet, but Cumberbatch sounds confident it is finally happening. If the cloak does not pull him away, Rogue Male could be his next big non-Marvel move — a stripped-down man-on-the-run thriller with some sharp edges and real lineage behind it.