Sacha Baron Cohen hasn’t exactly been box office magic as of late, with this year’s Alice Through The Looking Glass and The Brothers Grimsby failing to draw big numbers. He’ll hope to break the spell with his latest project, however, as he’s signed on to headline a Mandrake the Magician movie at Warner Bros.
The film is an adaptation of Lee Falk’s long-running comic strip about the adventures of Mandrake, an illusionist with hypnosis powers. Accompanied by his super strong, fez-wearing, leopard print-loving African king companion Lothar, the magician battled the likes of alien invaders, petty gangsters, and even a similarly powered evil twin.
Disney, Bladwin Entertainment, and Hyde Park all attempted to adapt the strip prior to WB’s acquisition of the rights in 2012. At one point, Baldwin and Hyde Park had Chuck Russell and Mimi Leder attached to direct Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Hayden Christensen in the film. For Cohen’s attempt, WB has signed on Etan Cohen (Tropic Thunder, Get Hard) to helm the film, with a writer still to be locked down.
[via The Hollywood Reporter]
