Benedict Cumberbatch signs up to climb Blood Mountain

While Benedict Cumberbatch’s Hollywood star is on the continual rise, there aren’t many major projects that the star hasn’t been linked to, but now we have definite news about the actor’s next movie.

Variety reports that Cumberbatch has signed up for new thriller Blood Mountain, coming from Mongol and Seventh Son director Sergei Bodrov, based on a script by The Last Hurrah writer Jonathan W. Stokes (with rewrites by The Lincoln Lawyer scribe John Romano).

According to the reported synopsis for the film, the story follows “a private military contractor whose special forces team is ambushed and killed during a covert raid, forcing him to personally escort one of the world’s most wanted terrorists over hostile terrain in order to bring him to justice.

“With a bounty at stake and insurgents and rival mercenaries hunting them, the two find themselves facing not only their enemies, but each other in their fight for survival.”

It’s also interesting to note that the shooting for the film is mooted for April, which would suggest a direct clash with the filming schedule for Star Wars Episode VII , which is set to start in May.

So, unless Cumberbatch is set to play a smaller role or can somehow juggle both schedules at once, this might put his Star Wars casting rumours to rest.