Cumberbatch and Shannon play inventors Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, who try to outdo each other in coming up with electrical revolution that will change the world.
- Sep 8, 2017
AceShowbiz - Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Shannon compete over who will control the future in the first trailer for "The Current War". The two Oscar-nominated actors play inventors Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse in the story about the electrical revolution set in 1879.
They are barely seen together, but the intense rivalry between them is very clear as they try to outdo each other in coming up with the best invention. The video hints at their dirty tricks and threats to overshadow their rival's works.
The trailer also offers a glimpse of Nikola Tesla, portrayed by Nicholas Hoult, who is introduced as a lesser known scientist but is praised for his ground-breaking studies. "I fix problems for idiots," he confidently says.
The historical drama is inspired by the War of Currents, an electrical arms race that played out in the late 1880s between inventor Thomas Edison who waged a corporate war against a rival electrical company run by George Westinghouse. Edison championed direct current (DC) for electric power distribution over alternating current (AC), which was backed by several European companies and Westinghouse Electric.
Backed by J.P. Morgan, Edison dazzles the world by lighting Manhattan. But Westinghouse, aided by Nikola Tesla, has seen fatal flaws in Edison's direct current design. Igniting a war of currents, Westinghouse and Tesla bet everything on risky and dangerous alternating current.
Alfonso Gomez-Rejon serves as director with the script provided by Michael Mitnick. Katherine Waterston, Matthew Macfadyen and "Spider-Man: Homecoming" star Tom Holland also join the cast of the movie, which is set to have its world premiere at the Toronto Internation Film Festival on Sunday, September 10. It is set for a limited theatrical release on November 24, before opening wide in the U.S. on January 19, 2018.
