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Benedict Cumberbatch on Harvey Weinstein's 'toxicity' wake

Benedict Cumberbatch is opening up about the "toxicity" surrounding his Harvey Weinstein produced project, "The Current War."

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Chloe Melas (CNN)
(CNN) — Benedict Cumberbatch is opening up about the "toxicity" surrounding his Harvey Weinstein produced project, "The Current War."

Cumberbatch, who plays Thomas Edison in the film about a battle between electricity titans in the 1880s, received buzz as an early Oscar contender after it premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year.

The movie was set for release last November, but it was shelved following the sexual misconduct allegations against Weinstein.

Cumberbatch, who is currently promoting "Avengers: Infinity War," isn't disappointed. In fact, he says he's "fine" with waiting "a couple of years" before distributing the movie to the general public.

"If it takes us not releasing our film for a couple of years just to be rid of that toxicity, I'm fine with that," Cumberbatch told The Telegraph. "To step back and be as far removed from that influence as possible, both as filmmaker and as human being."

The actor previously worked with Weinstein on the 2014 film, "The Imitation Game," for which Cumberbatch won an Academy Award.

After the allegations against Weinstein were brought by The New York Times and The New Yorker in October, Cumberbatch released a statement.

"I am utterly disgusted by the continuing revelations of Harvey Weinstein's horrifying and unforgivable actions," he said at the time. "We need to collectively stand up and support victims of abuse such as the brave and inspiring women who have spoken out against him and say we hear you and believe you."

The allegations led to Weinstein being fired by The Weinstein Company, which he co-founded in 2005, ongoing criminal investigations and the company's bankruptcy. As it stands, the allegations against Weinstein range from harassment to rape, include the stories of more than 80 women and span several decades.

Weinstein has repeatedly denied "any allegations of non-consensual sex."

CNN has reached out to the film's production companies for comment.

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