The 35-year-old actor will star in the film which tells the real-life story of Solomon Northup, a black slave living in New York in the 1850s, who is enticed to go on a trip to Washington only to end up being kidnapped and sold into slavery, reported Contactmusic.
Benedict will play the plantation owner who buys Solomon (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and is won over by his engineering skills.
Steve McQueen will direct the movie based on a script adapted from Northup's autobiography by British filmmaker Steve and John Ridley.
Benedict will be next seen in the "Star Trek" sequel, which stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Simon Pegg. The film will hit the theatres in May next year.