See Benedict Cumberbatch as Julian Assange in 'Fifth Estate'

Upcoming film expected to follow founding of WikiLeaks, rise to fame

POSTED: 11:08 AM Jan 23 2013   UPDATED: 2:26 PM Jan 23 2013
Benedict Cumberbatch as Julian Assange
(CNN) -

Benedict Cumberbatch is poised to have a very busy 2013, but we're already looking ahead to the eventual arrival of his portrayal of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

The "Sherlock" star portrays the headline-maker in an upcoming film called "The Fifth Estate," which started principal photography on Tuesday, Entertainment Weekly reports.

A new photo shows Cumberbatch as Assange and Daniel Brühl ("Inglourious Basterds") as Assange's cohort Daniel Domscheit-Berg, who also wrote the book "Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World's Most Dangerous Website."

News of Brühl's casting spread last fall, with the rumor being that he was tapped to replace James McAvoy, who is busy working on "X-Men: Days of Future Past."

The movie's expected to follow the founding of WikiLeaks as well as its rise to fame from the perspective of Domscheit-Berg. According to EW, screenwriter Josh Singer ("The West Wing," "Lie to Me," "Fringe") based the "The Fifth Estate's" script in part on Domscheit-Berg's book as well as the tome "WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange's War on Secrecy."

Bill Condon is directing the feature, which also reportedly stars Laura Linney and Anthony Mackie.