Benedict Cumberbatch is no stranger to bringing some magic to the big screen, and he’s set to do it in another exciting project. The Oscar-nominated actor has been cast as the lead in Colin Trevorrow’s next movie War Magician.
Based on David Fisher’s book of the same name, War Magician chronicles the life of the British stage magician Jasper Maskelyne, best known for claiming to have created large-scale illusions that reportedly helped the British army defeat the Nazis during World War II.
This isn’t the first attempt to bring Maskelyne’s story to the big screen. Peter Weir previously revealed he was considering filming a movie based on the illusionist’s life starring Tom Cruise. He eventually decided to drop it because it was difficult to separate facts from fiction due to the possibility that Fisher fabricated parts of the story.
Trevorrow’s take will be based on a script written by E. Nicholas Mariani. It’s expected to focus on an international team of magicians who conspired with Maskelyne to take down the Nazis. Trevorrow will serve as one of the producers through his company Metronome Films.
