Benedict Cumberbatch, John Malkovich For PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR

Benedict Cumberbatch and John Malkovich have been signed on to voice new characters in the animated spin-off pic The Penguins of Madagascar.

Cumberbatch is said to voice ‘a high-ranking animal CIA agent hot on his trail,’ while Malkovich is reportedly tapped to be the voice actor of the ‘charming villain’ in a spinoff of DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar franchise.

The upcoming animation from Simon J. Smith (Bee Movie) is getting a script from Michael Colton and John Aboud.

The source doesn’t mention who else from the rest of the Madagascar universe will be featured in the movie, which is currently in production and is slated to open on March 27th, 2015.

Cumberbatch is in high demand these days, as he’s committed to play in several hot projects including Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and its follow-up.

On the other side, Malkovich hasn’t been as busy as Cumberbatch, but he has been working. He can now be seen in Red 2 and is currently busy filming the thriller Cut Bank with both Liam Hemsworth and his Warm Bodies co-star Teresa Palmer.