Benedict Cumberbatch is set to star in a World War II drama called The War Magician, Variety Reports.
A director is yet to be named, but Gary Whitta (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) will adapt David Fisher’s book into a screenplay.
Cumberbatch will play Jasper Maskelyne, a magician who’s illusionist abilities helped fight against the Nazis. Maskelyne and his magic gang managed to conceal the Alexandria harbor and the Suez Canal, where there were 150,000 men with 1,000 guns and tanks, turning the tide of the war against General Rommel and the Germans in North Africa.
“The Maskelyne character is so different from the one that Benedict portrayed in The Imitation Game in that Maskelyne was very outgoing and confident,” Storyscape Entertainment’s Bob Cooper told the trade. “We think this is a perfect blend of acting talent with material.”
Cumberbatch is currently filming Marvel’s Doctor Strange for a November 2016 release.
