“This is a battle of the greatest minds in America,” the voice of Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange, Sherlock) as Thomas Edison declares ominously in the newest trailer for Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s The Current War. The film is based on the real-life story of the rivalry between Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and Nikola Tesla as the three inventors and innovators who fought for control of the nation’s electrical system in the late 1880s and early 1890s.
Along with Cumberbatch’s Edison, the film also sports a star-studding cast including Michael Shannon (The Shape of Water, Boardwalk Empire) as Westinghouse, Nicholas Hoult (Tolkein, Warm Bodies) as Tesla, and Tom Holland (Spiderman: Far From Home, Avengers: Infinity War) as Samuel Insull.
Chances are, you may have heard buzz about this long-anticipated film as far back as 2017, as The Current War debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. Unfortunately, the film was caught up in red tape following the Harvey Weinstein scandal. The film was eventually bought by Lantern Entertainment and later sold to 101 Studios for U.S. distribution. You can catch The Current War in select theaters on Oct. 4 and nationwide on Oct. 11.