Benedict Cumberbatch Exits Crimson Peak

Past the halfway mark in 2013 and despite the efforts made by the Hype machine including a vocal Internet following, this has not been the year of Benedict Cumberbatch. The British thesp still has several high-profile gigs dropping in the closing months of this year including the voice of Smaug in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, real-life weasel Julian Assange in Bill Condon's The Fifth Estate and Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave.

However his turn as Khan, the worst-kept/laziest secret in showbiz in Star Trek Into Darkness was supposed to be the breakout. The one that made him a household name; essentially what happened to Jennifer Lawrence after The Hunger Games last year. But it wasn't; probably due to the sequel sucking (Fuck you very much, Simon Pegg - You don't like criticism toward your movies but it was OK all those years you shit-talked the Star Wars prequels?) and his performance, let's be honest, not being that interesting. He may wind up being a repeat Tom Hardy; a very good, and at times great, actor who just isn't leading man/movie-star material but will never stop getting work. Too soon to reach that verdict, I'll admit.

In the meantime, the Sherlock star is making his schedule a bit lighter. As per The Hollywood Reporter, he has dropped out of his planned participation in the Guillermo del Toro-directed frightener Crimson Peak. No reason for the split was given though it is reportedly unrelated to a rival project. Knowing the Internet, there will rumors he is up for Batman in no time.