Benedict Cumberbatch Olivia Colman

Source: Gage Skidmore [licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0] / Dillon Bryden

Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman

Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman will star in Searchlight Pictures’ The Roses, a reimagining of the 1989 dark comedy The War Of The Roses to be directed by Jay Roach.

Tony McNamara, whose credits include Poor Things and The Great, wrote the screenplay based on the novel by Warren Adler.

The Roses centres on the seemingly perfect family life of Theo and Ivy, whose private competition and resentments are exposed when Theo’s professional dreams come crashing down.

Cumberbatch is producing through his SunnyMarch with Leah Clarke and Adam Ackland, who have been in development on the project since 2017. Colman is producing via her South of the River with Ed Sinclair and Tom Carver, along with Roach and Michelle Graham.

Jonathan R. Adler and Michael Adler from Adler Entertainment Trust serve as executive producers. The Roses marks the first project under a two-year first-look deal signed between Adler Entertainment Trust and Searchlight.

Twentieth Century Fox released The War Of the Roses novel in 1989 starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner and directed by Danny DeVito. The film earned an unadjusted $160m at the global box office and garnered one Bafta and three Golden Globe nominations.

 Cumberbatch has starred in television hit Sherlock and his film credits include the Doctor Strange franchise and other Marvel Studios films, as well as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, 12 Years A Slave, and August: Osage County. He earned an Oscar nod for The Imitation Game.

Colman won the Oscar for The Favourite and has starred in The Lost Daughter, The Father, Wicked Little Letters, and The Crown, The Night Manager, and Broadchurch on television.

Roach directed the Austin Powers film series, Meet The Parents, The Campaign, Trumbo, and Bombshell. His television credits include Recount, Game Change, and All the Way.

Searchlight VP of production Richard Ruiz and director of development and production Pete Spencer are overseeing the project, reporting to Searchlight production heads DanTram Nguyen and Katie Goodson-Thomas.