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Benedict Cumberbatch in World War II drama

Sherlock star will play British hero Jasper Maskelyne in The War Magician.

Benedict Cumberbatch will star in World War II drama The War Magician - a project that's been in development since 2003. Storyscape Entertainment principals Bob Cooper and Richard Saperstein have attached the British actor to the project with StudioCanal on board to finance and distribute in its territories. The project, based on David Fisher's fact-based novel, will be be adapted by Rogue One: A Star Wars Story writer Gary Whitta. No director is attached yet. Tom Cruise and producing partner Paul Wagner originally optioned the book in 2003 and attached Peter Weir to direct.
In 2012, Marc Forster was attached to direct, but fell out of the project. Cumberbatch will play the titular British hero Jasper Maskelyne, the magician whose illusions helped the allied forces fight against the Nazis during World War II. Maskelyne put together a "dirty dozen" of accomplices known as 'The Magic Gang,' who were able to make tanks, troops and buildings seem to disappear, along with conjuring phony armies. Maskelyne and his associates also 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. He created a bogus Alexandra harbor that attracted most of the nightly bombing raids and shielded troops in the Suez through anti-aircraft searchlights and mirrors that blinded Nazi pilots. Maskelyne's techniques resulted in Adolf Hitler adding him to his personal blacklist alongside men like Douglas MacArthur and British Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery. Cumberbatch received a best actor Oscar nomination for his role as codebreaker Alan Turing in The Imitation Game last year.
Cooper told Variety that discussions with Cumberbatch about the role of Maskelyne began last year while The Imitation Game was gathering steam for its awards season campaign. "The Maskelyne character is so different from the one that Benedict portrayed in The Imitation Game in that he was very outgoing and confident," Cooper said. "We think this is a perfect blend of acting talent with material."
Ron Halpern, StudioCanal's exec VP of international production, said, "Both Imitation Game and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy were phenomenal successes for StudioCanal, and we are thrilled to be in business with Benedict Cumberbatch on this extraordinary project."