According to The Hollywood Reporter, “After the Dance” star Benedict Cumberbatch is confirmed to star in Studio Canal’s upcoming World War II drama, “The War Magician”.
No director is on board to helm the project yet, but Storyscape Entertainment principals Richard Saperstein and Bob Cooper will be producing the film. In addition, Gary Whitta is adapting the story from David Fisher’s fact-based novel.
Cumberbatch will play the role of British hero Jasper Maskelyne, a magician who is good at creating illusions. During the World War II, the illusions he created helped the Allied forces to compete with the Nazis.
According to Saperstein and Cooper, Maskelyne gathered a dozen of accomplices called “The Magic Gang”. The gang used illusion tricks to hide strategic targets such as the Alexandria harbour near the Suez Canal while hiding a total of 150,000 men with 1,000 guns and tanks. In the book, it is stated that the illusions helped reversed the events of the war against the Germans in North America and General Rommel which ended up to the Battle of El Alamein.
The studio’s announcement stated that the techniques used by Maskelyne were so effective that Adolf Hitler added him to his personal blacklist alongside men like General Douglas MacArthur and British Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery. Those who were in the blacklist would receive “special” treatment by the Nazis if they were captured alive.
Cumberbatch is best known for his roles in BBC’s “Sherlock” and “Star Trek: Into Darkness“. He is currently filming Marvel‘s “Doctor Strange“.
No release date for “The War Magician” was announced, but stay tuned for more updates.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter.
