Netflix Snaps Up Benedict Cumberbatch Thriller 'The 39 Steps'
The buzzy remake of the Alfred Hitchcock classic The 39 Steps starring Benedict Cumberbatch will be headed to a Netflix queue near you. The streamer made what is being described as an aggressive bid for the rights to the new adaptation of John Buchan's thriller, which reportedly "updates the classic novel for our times".
According to Deadline, the series is likely to run at least six - possibly more - hour-long episodes and will film next year in Europe when schedules clear. (And coronavirus filming restrictions ease.) The original film only runs about 90 minutes, so how producers will expand the story to fill six-plus hours is anyone's guess. Though I suppose that's one way to waylay potential Hitchcock comparisons out of the gate. (Yes, I know, it's based on a book. But the book is incredibly short!)
Cumberbatch will star as Richard Hannay, an ordinary man who unwittingly becomes a pawn in a far-reaching global conspiracy to reset the world order. The series is created by The Revenant writer Mark L. Smith and directed by Edward Berger. Berger worked with Cumberbatch on the showtime series Patrick Melrose.
