Benedict Cumberbatch Teams Up With Guy Ritchie for High-Stakes Thriller—Release Date and Plot Revealed

So here’s one for your ‘hold up, what now?’ list: Guy Ritchie is teaming up with Benedict Cumberbatch for a black comedy thriller called 'Wife and Dog.' Yes, that’s really the title, and yes, it’s as delightfully off-kilter as it sounds. We’ve finally got a release date and all the key details—from who else is in it to where it sits in Ritchie’s ever-busier pipeline.

Wife and Dog: What’s the Story?

Launching October 23, 2026 (assuming nothing gets punted down the road, Hollywood-style), 'Wife and Dog' is going for the jugular with a plot not too far from the classic ‘rich family gets greedy and starts eating itself’ setup. Basically, it’s a winner-takes-all succession mess inside the Fairbank family, featuring betrayals, murders, and a crowd of power-hungry maniacs who apparently stopped caring about ‘family’ about five minutes into the first act.

In true Ritchie fashion, he’s not handing directing duties to anyone else—he wrote it himself, too. As for production, Black Bear Pictures is ponying up the money alongside Toff Guy Films.

Cast: Some Proper Heavy Hitters

The cast isn’t messing around. Besides Cumberbatch (finally working with Ritchie after dancing around each other in Sherlock projects for years), you’ll see:

• Rosamund Pike
• Anthony Hopkins
• Cosmo Jarvis
• James Norton
• Paddy Considine
• Pip Torrens

A couple of those names have already shared the screen somewhere—Hopkins and Cumberbatch were both in 'Thor: Ragnarok', but if you blinked, you missed their two characters ever actually interacting.

Behind the Scenes: Schedules, Cross-Overs, and Some Mild Chaos

Production kicked off in the UK in February 2025, so they’re not rushing this thing. Black Bear Pictures, who’s been making a lot of noise about expanding its US distribution (the new branch went live July 2025), is planning a real push for 'Wife and Dog.' If their numbers hold, they’re aiming for up to a dozen theatrical releases a year. Sitting in that 2026 lineup along with Ritchie’s film: 'Tuner' (with Dustin Hoffman, out May 22) and 'The Rivals of Amziah King' (Matthew McConaughey, out August 22).

Ritchie is basically everywhere these days. The 'Wife and Dog' press drop landed literally the same day he was making noise about 'MobLand' getting a second season pick-up for 2026, with Paddy Considine front and center. And if that’s not enough, he’s also directing a chunk of 'Young Sherlock' for Prime Video—it debuts March 4, 2026, with Hero Fiennes Tiffin as the iconic detective fresh out of the box.

Ironic Crossings: Sherlock Holmes (Sort Of), But Not Together

Fans who always wanted to see Cumberbatch and Ritchie do Sherlock together—well, this isn’t exactly it. Ritchie did the Robert Downey Jr. Holmes flicks, while Cumberbatch was doing his genius routine for the BBC in 'Sherlock.' This is their first time actually collaborating. I won’t say 'dream team' just yet, but it’s at least a team we’ve been waiting on for a while.

What the Studio’s Saying

Black Bear Pictures is already talking up 'Wife and Dog' like it’ll be a tentpole for their expanded slate, describing it as, and here comes the official tone, a “tense story of betrayal, murder, and a ruthless fight for power.” Yeah—no kidding, have you met Guy Ritchie?

Long story short, if you’re into family backstabbing, dark laughs, and a cast list that feels like someone raided BAFTA night, mark October 2026 on your calendar. I, for one, just want to see what the dog is up to.