Jake Gyllenhaal and Benedict Cumberbatch to Costar in The Current War

Broadway veteran Jake Gyllenhaal and current West End star Benedict Cumberbatch are reportedly in talks to play George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison in the Weinstein Company’s The Current War, written by Michael Mitnick. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon is in talks to direct.

Set in the late 1880s, the story revolves around the two power titans as they battle for the supply of electricity. Edison historically championed the use of direct current for electric power distribution while Westinghouse Electric backed the use of alternating current.

Gyllenhaal appeared on Broadway last season alongside Tony nominee Ruth Wilson in Nick Payne's two-person play Constellations. Cumberbatch currently stars in Lyndsey Turner's production of Hamlet in London's West End.

The film will be produced by Timur Bekmambetov (who was originally eyed to direct), along with Film Rites’ Steve Zaillian and Garrett Basch.