English actor Benedict Cumberbatch is set to reacquaint himself with Shakespearean acting, having landed a role in the BBC’s new series ‘The Hollow Crown’. He will also reunite with one of his ‘Sherlock’ co-actors Andrew Scott, who plays Holmes’ arch-enemy Moriarty in the popular adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short stories.

Benedict Cumberbatch Richard III
Benedict Cumberbatch will star as Richard III in the BBC's 'The Hollow Crown: War of the Roses'

The second series of ‘The Hollow Crown’, which follows the well-received first instalment back in early 2012, focusses on the War of the Roses and Shakespeare’s tetralogy of plays encompassing the three Henry VI plays plus Richard III. The former is usually performed in three parts but is being collapsed into two feature-length episodes.

Cumberbatch will portray Richard III, while Andrew Scott will star as the French king Louis XI. Dominic Cooke, the former director of London’s Royal Court theatre, will helm the episodes which will begin shooting in the coming weeks.

This casting will not be entirely new territory for him: before his big break as a TV and movie star, Cumberbatch was a regular in performances of Shakespeare plays on the Open Air Theatre in London’s Regent’s Park, where he held down roles in Love’s Labour’s Lost, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo & Juliet and As You Like It. A role as Richard III, however, will be the first time he has participated in one of Shakespeare’s history plays.

An impressive cast, which reads like the collective cream of British and Irish acting of the last ten years, has been assembled for 'The Hollow Crown: War of the Roses'. Sir Michael Gambon and Dame Judi Dench will play Sir Edmund Mortimer and Cecily, Duchess of York respectively, and they’ll be joined by ‘Life On Mars’’ Philip Glenister, 'Downton Abbey'’s Hugh Bonneville as the Duke of Gloucester, as well as Tom Sturridge, Sophie Okonedo, Keeley Hawes and Ben Miles.

The star-studded list of acting talent is capped off with the presence of Sam Mendes, responsible for the hugely successful films Skyfall and American Beauty among others, as executive producer.

More: BBC’s ‘Sherlock’ will return at Christmas. Next year.