Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness) and John Malkovich (RED) have joined DreamWorks Animation's The Penguins of Madagascar. The Penguins have already starred in their own TV show, a straight-to-DVD spin-off film and a comic, and the new film is due to be released in March 2015.Malkovich will be voicing the villain, while Cumberbatch will voice a CIA animal. Simon J. Smith (Bee Movie) is directing, and regular Madagascar filmmakers Tom McGrath and Eric Darnell are on board as producers.
Cumberbatch is also lending his voice to The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug, as both Smaug and the Necromancer. He will next be seen in The Fifth Estate with Stanley Tucci, Peter Capaldi and Carice van Houten, and Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Brad Pitt, and Michael Fassbender. Malkovich is currently starring in Red 2 and filming the thriller Cut Bank with Liam Hemsworth and Billy Bob Thornton.