The Weinstein Company has released the first photo of Benedict Cumberbatch as inventor Thomas Edison in the new film The Current War. The studio has not issued a release date for The Current War at this time, but production started last month on this movie. Here's what Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of The Weinstein Company, said in a statement about the film when production got under way.

"Edison and Westinghouse's rivalry is the ultimate tale of competition driving ingenuity. Theirs was a battle of intellect, a race of creativity and technological innovation that we see echoed in the self-made inventors dominating spaces like Silicon Valley. We're thrilled to start filming and to share this historical rivalry with audiences everywhere."

Set in the late 1880s, The Current War details the rivalry between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse and the race to create a marketable and sustainable electricity system. Edison championed the use of a direct current for electric power distribution over an alternating current, which was backed by Westinghouse Electric and a host of European companies. The film's cast features Academy Award nominee Benedict Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison alongside Michael Shannon as George Westinghouse. This first look image comes courtesy of Entertainment Weekly.

Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Alien: Covenant) also stars in the film along with Tom Holland (Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming), Matthew Macfadyen (Ripper Street, Anna Karenina) and Tuppence Middleton (War & Peace, The Imitation Game). The cast also includes Nicholas Hoult (X-Men Apocalypse, Mad Max: Fury Road) in the role of Nikola Tesla. It remains to be seen how long production will last, or when The Weinstein Company will announce a release date.

Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) directs from a script by Michael Mitnick (The Giver). Ben Stiller was once attached to direct when the film was in development back in 2014. Basil Iwanyk (Wind River, Hotel Mumbai), Timur Bekmanbetov and Harvey Weinstein producing, with Cumberbatch and Adam Ackland executive producing. Take a look at this first photo from The Current War as production continues on this upcoming biopic.