According to Deadline, Emmy-winning actress Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) will star opposite Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange) in Dominic Cooke’s Cold War spy thriller Ironbark. Also in the cast are Jessie Buckley (Wild Rose), Merab Ninidze (Jupiter’s Moon), Angus Wright (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) and Kirill Pirogov (Wake Me Up). The screenplay is by Tom O’Connor (The Hitman’s Bodyguard).
Based on a true story, Ironbark centers on Greville Wynne (Cumberbatch), a British exporter who often traveled behind the Iron Curtain for his business. He was recruited by the CIA to make contact with a Russian source, Colonel Oleg Penkovsky, a senior Russian military intelligence officer who was a goldmine of information about the Soviet nuclear program. The intel facilitated a peaceful resolution to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Brosnahan will play Emily Donovan, a brilliant CIA agent who runs the espionage operation involving Wynne and Penkovsky.
The feature film will be produced by Ben Pugh and Rory Aitken of 42 alongside SunnyMarch’s Adam Ackland, and Film Nation Entertainment. Executive producing are Cumberbatch, Cooke, and O’Conner, along with 42’s Josh Varney and Leah Clarke of SunnyMarch.
Brosnahan has received critical acclaim for her starring role as Midge Maisel on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which recently won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy series. In addition to picking up a best actress Emmy this year, Brosnahan also was a Golden Globe winner for the role. On the big screen, she starred in Patriots Day, which starred Mark Wahlberg, The Finest Hours opposite Chris Pine, and Sabyn Mayfield’s Boomtown.
Ironbark was one of the hottest properties entering the market around the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. The film is currently in pre-production. We will keep you posted as we get updates on Ironbark.