The powers that be just got the bright idea to hire Nicholas Hoult for The Current War. The X-Men actor is in final talks to play Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla, according to The Hollywood Reporter. You might have forgotten that history class on “the war of currents†— those dark days (literally) in the 19th century when Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse competed to sell America on the merits of direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) systems, respectively — but that’s only because you didn’t realize that those electrical pioneers were total dream boats. At least they are in Hollywood’s adaptation of the story. Benedict Cumberbatch will play Edison, Michael Shannon will suit up as Westinghouse, and Hoult will play Nikola Tesla, the inventor and engineer who, at different times, worked for them both. Sparks will fly over Tesla’s invention, patent laws, and the audience’s dreams of historic couples who never were.