Benedict Cumberbatch teases adaptation of novel he says inspired James Bond series
He has been planning to start production on the film since 2016.
Benedict Cumberbatch has teased the upcoming adaptation of a novel he says inspired James Bond.
Speaking on the SmartLess podcast, hosted by Sean Hayes, Jason Bateman and Will Arnett, Cumberbatch claimed Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household is what influenced Ian Fleming to pen the James Bond franchise.
The Doctor Strange actor and his production company SunnyMarch first floated the idea of a film adaptation back in 2016, with Macbeth co-writer Michael Lesslie on script duty and Fox Searchlight backing its development. Alas, the project never got off the ground.
He told The Hollywood Reporter at the time: "I am thrilled both as an actor and producer to be working on bringing this most treasured of English novels to the big screen."
Now, almost a decade since the idea's conception, Cumberbatch said on the podcast that he hoped for production to begin next year.
"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," he told the hosts.
However, he also seemed to tease his return as Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and how that could impact plans: "There are other huge commitments involving cloaks floating about."
The novel, published in 1939, is a thriller and follows an Englishman whose failed bid to kill a dictator of a European country sees him tortured and left for dead. After escaping home to England, he hides in the countryside, fighting to stay ahead of enemy agents and the police who are closing in.
Household intended for the dictator to represent a famous historical figure, telling Radio Times in the 1970s: "Although the idea for Rogue Male germinated from my intense dislike of Hitler, I did not actually name him in the book as things were a bit tricky at the time and I thought I would leave it open so that the target could be either Hitler or Stalin."
Continuing on the SmartLess podcast, Cumberbatch said: “It’s the original fugitive novel and a huge inspiration for Ian Fleming for Bond. When we first sat down to talk about this, [we thought] is this a bit of a guy’s film?
"The longer we were exploring the themes of it and the motivation behind the guy’s actions, and the outcome, and how he’s turned on by his own side, as well as the side he’s tried to take down, it’s fascinating how it plays into the political spectrum of what’s going on in the world right now."
There have been previous adaptations of the British novel including the Twentieth Century Fox film Man Hunt in 1941 and the 1976 BBC TV film with Peter O'Toole in the lead.
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Authors
Phoebe Kowhai Barnes is a Freelance Writer who covers pop culture and entertainment programmes for the Radio Times. She previously worked as the Senior Assistant Editor at The Tab where she managed its local department. She obtained a BA (Hons) in English Literature from University of Nottingham.
