The name Julian Asange didn’t mean a lot to me outside of his affiliation with Wikileaks before I saw We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks but after watching the rise and fall of that international government espionage extraordinaire, I am really compelled to see Benedict Cumberbatch filling in the shoes of Asange. Although Benedict failed to win most audiences over with his rather static role in Star Trek Into Darkness, his other work, particularly on BBC‘s Sherlock, continue to give me faith in his eventual Hollywood star rising.

The Fifth Estate is a dramatic biopic that follows Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Daniel Brühl) and his professional association with Asange in the grassroots beginnings of Wikileaks. If the film can manage to do what The Social Network did for Facebook, then it will certainly be a welcome addition to the October film line up. What gives me pause is the fact that it’s directed by Bill Condon of Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 as that hardly seems like a qualifying resume for a biopic of this nature.

Give the trailer a look and see if you think Cumberbatch and Condon will do the Wikileaks and Asagne story justice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT1wb8_tcYU

The Fifth Estate is directed by Bill Condon and stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Brühl, Anthony Mackie, David Thewlis, Alicia Vikander, Peter Capaldi, Carice van Houten, Dan Stevens, Stanley Tucci and Laura Linney. It hits theaters on October 18.