WATCH: Benedict Cumberbatch's Thomas Edison wages 'The Current War' in first official trailer

Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon and Nicholas Hoult appear as Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and Nikola Tesla, respectively, in the first trailer of Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's period drama The Current War.

The Weinstein Company released the brand new trailer on Thursday. The movie will largely focus on the race between Edison (Cumberbatch) and Westinghouse (Shannon) to make electricity affordable and omnipresent. In order to win this race - or as the title suggests - war, Edison and Westinghouse reach for various ways and methods to outdo their rival. This will, at some point, also involve Tesla (Hoult) who 'fixes problems for idiots' (LET OUT THAT CHEER, YOU NERDS! THIS IS THE TIME).

The movie is based on an electrical arms race, which was termed as 'War of Currents.' It played out in the late 1880s and paved the way for how alternating current vs direct current circuits are used around the globe now.

This will be the 8th time Benedict Cumberbatch is part of a biopic in his onscreen career so far. Shannon is coming off being nominated for awards for his role in Tom Ford's Nocturnal Animals. His movie with Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water has garnered rave reviews in film festival circuits.

These two are joined by Nicholas Hoult and Tom Holland in pivotal roles.

The Current War is slated to release on November 24, 2017 in the US.

Watch the trailer