Benedict Cumberbatch & Jake Gyllenhaal Circling New Thriller

Benedict Cumberbatch and Jake Gyllenhaal are currently looking to star together in an original thriller, titled Rio. After 2016 proved to be a fruitful year for both actors – between Cumberbatch joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Strange‘s namesake and Gyllenhaal earning applause for his work on Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals – the pair are keeping as busy as ever now. Gyllenhaal is costarring in Snowpiercer director Joon Ho Bong’s Okja when it arrives next month, while Cumberbatch is slated to appear in films varying from historical drama The Current War to MCU blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War, over the next year or so.

Both actors bear Oscar nominations to their names and have continued to balance out their mainstream studio films with roles in more independent fare; see for example, Cumberbatch playing famed mathematician/WWII hero Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, and Gyllenhaal being applauded for his dark performance in the movie Nightcrawler. Rio, however, would mark the first time that the pair have actually shared the screen with one another in leading roles.

Variety is confirming that Gyllenhaal and Cumberbatch are currently being sought to star in Rio, an original film set to be directed by A Bigger Splash filmmaker Luca Guadagnino, based on a script written by Peaky Blinders and Taboo creator, Steven Knight. The screenplay centers around a financial journalist (Gyllenhaal) who travels to Rio de Janeiro, in order to visit his wealthy friend (Cumberbatch). However, Gyllenhaal’s protagonist then becomes entangled in a sinister plot to fake his friend’s death.

Rio is being financed and produced by Studiocanal, alongside Gyllenhaal and his Nine Stories Productions studio banner, as well as Cumberbatch and his Sunny March production company. Nine Stories partner Riva Marker and Sunny March partner Adam Ackland will co-produce the movie and are actively seeks international distribution from potential buyers at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.

The idea of seeing Cumberbatch and Gyllenhaal share the screen in a movie together is exciting enough on its own, but when the likes of critically-acclaimed director Guadagnino and celebrated screenwriter Knight (whose film credits include Eastern Promises and Locke, the latter of which he also directed) are thrown into the mix, the pot only gets sweeter. On that note, here’s to hoping for the very best as Rio continues to develop behind the scenes.

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