The Amazing Cheekbones Battle of the Century may soon be upon us – actress Keira Knightley is apparently in talks to join Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch in upcoming biopic The Imitation Game, reports the Hollywood Reporter. Based on a biography by Andrew Hodges, the film is focused on the life of Alan Turing, the British mathematician,  cryptographer and all around genius who helped crack the German enigma code during World War II.

Cumberbatch has been attached to this film for some time, probably because he seems to have a knack for playing slightly tortured, high octane intellectual types (see also: Sherlock Holmes, Vincent Van Gogh, Stephen Hawking, etc) , so his casting as Turing is basically the definition of perfect.  

Knightley – who is probably most well known for her role in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and as Lizzie Bennett in the 2005 Pride and Prejudice remake – is apparently in talks to take on the role of a very conservative woman who develops a “complicated” relationship with Turing and is “there with him until the end.” Given that the end of Turing’s life was packed with tragedy – he was prosecuted by the British government for being homosexual, chose to undergo a hormone treatment known colloquially as chemical castration rather face prison and eventually committed suicide because he was so haunted by his decision – there ought to be plenty of messy emotional material for both Knightley and Cumberbatch to work with. (Protip: Pack tissues)

Warning: This is possibly (probably?) the most shallow post in the world. Please feel free to just skip right on by this one, unless you’re one of the multitude of newly converted members of the apparently immense Benedict Cumberbatch online army. Then you’ll enjoy it. So you know, there’s that.

If you haven’t been online in the past week, you may have missed the fact that the internet has basically lost its mind over the Sherlock star, whose turn as the villain in Star Trek Into Darkness has won raves from both critics and fans and made him an even bigger online rockstar than before. (He sort of deserves it, though, so it’s okay.) Besides that, filming on Series 3 of Sherlock was also going on this week, and since it was the last bit of shooting before the team takes a two-month break there’s been a fair bit of end-of-term style silliness from that side, as well.

Basically, it’s been a good week to be a Cumberbatch fan, is what I’m saying. Click through for what are clearly the two best bits.

Summer movie season is officially upon us and with it the highly anticipated sequel Star Trek Into Darkness, which boasts a raft of British talent of various stripes, but has mostly picked up buzz for featuring Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch in what is sure to be his big breakout Hollywood role. (He’s playing [SPOILER]. Ha – as though one would ever risk the wrath of the internet for writing that out this weekend.)

Real spoiler this time: Cumberbatch is fantastic in the film and is getting showered with lots of well deserved kudos and review mentions and general accolades and the next time you see his name in a trailer, you’re going to know who he is. It’s that kind of performance. (For those of us who’ve been fans of his work for some time, this is a pretty awesome week!)

So, welcome to Cumberbatch mania, all you folks who have stumbled online after seeing Star Trek and are wondering who that rather posh looking bloke with the great hair and amazing cheekbones happens to be. We’re here for you. We know the deal. We’re happy to help. You want to know where to go next? Here are a few suggestions. 

Because we haven’t done this in a while, let us consider: What movies is Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch busy signing up to star in right now?

You might think that we’ve got enough Cumberbatch films (Cumberfilms?) to be going on with for a bit, what with his upcoming roles in Star Trek Into Darkness, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Fifth Estate, Twelve Years a Slave and August: Osage County. Oh, and also that highly-anticipated third series of Sherlock that he's currently filming at the moment.  But you would be wrong about that, because apparently Mr. Cumberbatch is either magical or an animatronic Cylon who doesn’t sleep, because he’s lined up even more films in what must now be considered his personal campaign to take over the multiplexes of America. (I’m still okay with it, though.) 

Congrats to everyone for surviving the horrifying ten month wait with little-to-no Sherlock news to speak of whatsoever, because apparently we have reached the promised land and the floodgates of Series 3 information have opened. Following the announcement of the official start of production on Series 3 and first episode read-through yesterday, there’s actually even better news to share. (Yes, really.)

[Normally I feel a bit bad about doing two posts on the blog in a row about the same topic, but since this news really is pretty exceptionally awesome, I hope everyone will forgive me.] 

F air warning: I am a huge fan of author Neil Gaiman and his work and out of all of it, Neverwhere is my absolute favorite and I am basically at like DEFCON TUMBLR levels of excited for this, so you know, apologies in advance.

One of the things I love the most about the British entertainment industry in general (besides its dedication to costume dramas and enduring love for Sherlock Holmes) is the fact that they still embrace radio as a valid and valuable creative outlet. While we also had radio series here in America back in the day – soap operas actually started out as radio serials for example – once we got television, we basically broke up with radio and never looked back. Not so in the United Kingdom – the BBC frequently puts on all manner of fantastic radio series, from dramas to comedies and everything in between.

Thanks to the Radio Times, we’ve now got details on the new Radio 4 dramatization of Neil Gaiman’s popular – and awesome –fantasy novel Neverwhere. (As well as a lovely new cast photo!) It’s packed with an all-star voice cast of that reads like a who’s who list of British acting talent, including X-Men’s James McAvoy, Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch, The Tudors’ Natalie Dormer, Homeland’s David Harewood, Doctor Who alums Sophie Okonedo and Bernard Cribbins, Merlin’s Anthony Stewart Head, The Hour’s Romola Garai, the great Sir Christopher Lee and more. Find out who everyone's playing - and get a better look at that photo - under the cut.

Premium cable network HBO has released some more goodies for those of us who are eagerly anticipating the American broadcast of Parade’s End, starring Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch alongside Rebecca Hall.

Am I spamming you guys about Parade’s End? I feel like I might be. But, I so want everyone to watch it and get swoony with me and I’ve been swooning in a fairly limited bubble since October so my basic feeling on this topic is hurry up, HBO! The five-part drama premieres on February 26 and will air over three consecutive nights.

However, HBO apparently approves of my at least being quasi-spammy about it, as they keep releasing new things for us all to look at. Click through for a look at a new trailer and a new cast conversations clip where the stars and production team discuss the project. 

Awesome news: Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch is lending his (distinctive) voice to long-running animated series The Simpsons this weekend, on Sunday, February 10.

Sad news: His appearance will not be as the world’s only consulting detective, despite the fact that I couldn’t resist using this amazing Sherlock fan art as the main image on this post. Yes, I know, I was pretty upset about this revelation too. I can only imagine how his particular brand of Sherlock Holmes would feel about the residents of Springfield (What’s it like in your funny little brains/it must be so boring?)

Anyway, because we all need to take what bits of Cumberbatch we can get as we suffer through our own personal versions of the Great Hiatus, it’s likely that we’re all fine with this. And what better sign that an actor we all love has really hit it big than the chance to do The Simpsons? (Everyone, it would seem, has done a guest bit on this show.) Go on, you know you want to read more. 

Production has officially begun on That WikiLeaks Movie with Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch. Now known as The Fifth Estate – presumably to avoid having to pay the licensing fee to David Bowie to use previously rumored title The Man Who Sold the World - the film is set to dramatize the controversial life of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after the 2006 launch of the WikiLeaks website. (Personally I’m rather sad about the loss of the previous title, if only because it seems a much better fit.)

Written by The West Wing alum Josh Singer, the film is based on the books Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World’s Most Dangerous Website and Wikileaks: Inside Julian Assange’s War on Secrecy. Bill Condon, most recently of The Twilight Saga, is directing and has assembled an all-star cast that’s positively bursting with familiar faces and talent, including Daniel Bruhl, Laura Linney, Anthony Mackenzie, David Thewlis, Peter Capaldi, Dan Stevens and more. Translation: it’s got “awards bait” written all over it.

Still and all though, since this movie is basically the reason that production on Sherlock Series 3 got pushed back, it better be excellent, right? Weigh in for yourself below and get your first look at Cumberbatch as Assange – yes, complete with trademark white-blonde hair. It’s a bit of an adjustment to be sure (and a look that I doubt will set many teenage girls screaming a la his appearance in Star Trek), but oddly, creepily Cumberbatch really does looks like Assange. It’s merely unfortunate that Assange himself is, in fact, a bit creepy looking. See the larger version below. 

MTV News caught up with Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch at the Golden Globe Awards last weekend – the actor was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television for his turn as the world’s only consulting detective. Sadly, he lost out to Kevin Costner’s performance in Hatfields and McCoys (a fact that deserves another whole post/rant on its own), but, nevertheless, this carpet clip is worth a look for all the Cumberbatch fans out there, just because it’s kind of fantastic.

In theory, the thrust of this interview is that Cumberbatch finally shares a favorite line from his upcoming turn as [Mysterious Big Bad Villain to Be Identified Later] in the upcoming Star Trek sequel. Full disclosure: if you’re a Trekkie watching this clip specifically for this moment, prepare yourselves for disappointment now, because the only line the actor utters is something that’s already shown up in the film’s promotional materials. (Dull. /Sherlock voice.)

However, if you’ve ever wanted to watch the man who’s mostly famous for playing an aloof, anti-social genius get super excited because Adele passes by on the red carpet? Then this is the video for you.