While nothing has been confirmed yet, the guys over at Tracking Board are exclusively reporting that Benedict Cumberbatch has already been offered the role of Ian Fleming in a film about his life during WWII and the origins of his most famous creation, James Bond. Up until last year the biopic was due to be directed by Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code) before he ditched the project to move onto his Warcraft adaptation. Since then we’ve had the four part miniseries Fleming starring Dominic Cooper which aired on Sky Atlantic at the start of the year, essentially tackling the exact same subject.
The biopic will be based on Andrew Lycett’s 2009 biography and is set to be an independent production with no director attached as yet. If Cumberbatch accepts the role, it’s likely shooting will begin early next year depending on scheduling conflicts. Cumberbatch has been on an unstoppable roll over the past few years and his inclusion would certainly give the indie movie tons of hype. As well as Dominic Cooper, Ian Fleming has been portrayed by fellow thespians Charles Dance, James D’Arcy and Sean Connery’s son Jason in previous films.
Gavin Logan – Follow me on Twitter