Benedict Cumberbatch lands role in thriller Last Flight
Benedict Cumberbatch as Vincent
Sherlock and Marvel star Benedict Cumberbatch has been cast in BAFTA-winner Babak Anvari’s upcoming thriller Last Flight.
The official log line reads: “Over the final days of a twenty-year war, Ali, a young Afghan man, is fighting for his entire family’s life to find safe passage out of Afghanistan, before he is sent to certain death. To reach the border, he must put his trust in Kirk Johnson, an American stranger 7,000 miles away who is desperately trying to put the war behind him.”
Cumberbatch is set to appear as an American man helping people facing persecution evacuate from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Anvari will be directing from a screenplay written by Kirk Wallace Johnson who has reportedly drawn inspiration from his own life experiences. He has worked for the United States Agency for International Development in coordination, helping with the reconstruction in Iraq’s Fallujah. Johnson also has experience founding and working for the List Project, a charity dedicated to helping Iraqis who served as allies in the war resettle.
Johnson also suffers from PTSD following the Iraq war, working with Senator Ted Kennedy to form the Special Immigrant Visa Programme to help Iraqis and Afghans who sided with America.
“Last Flight is a rare thriller that combines relentless edge of your seat tension with profound humanity,” Deadline reports Dave Bishop, CEO of Protagonist Pictures, as stating. “Babak Anvari brings extraordinary urgency and compassion to this story, grounding its high-stakes momentum in the deeply human choices that define us. Benedict Cumberbatch will undoubtedly bring the intelligence, depth, and moral complexity this role demands.”
He added: “It’s an important story that speaks directly to our moment: a story about trust, responsibility, and the enduring bonds between people across borders. We’re incredibly proud to be introducing the project to buyers at EFM.”
Director Anvari shares that Johnson’s story is “deeply personal to [him]” as he comes “from the region, and what sits behind Last Flight is immediate and lived.”
“It is a thriller built on pressure, momentum, and impossible choices, always driven by human consequence,” the British-Iranian director added. “I have admired Benedict Cumberbatch for years, and having him at the centre of this film is incredibly exciting. He brings a rare presence that makes the stakes feel urgent and alive.”
Last Flight is due to begin filming in May this year, with location shooting taking place in the UK, Morocco and Jordan. It will oversee joint production between Two and Two (Lucan Toh and Babak Anvari) and Cumberbatch’s SunnyMarch (Leah Clarke and Adam Ackland).
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