Sacha Baron Cohen Set To Play Mandrake In Upcoming ‘Mandrake the Magician’ Film

Sacha Baron Cohen is set to star as classic comic strip character Mandrake, in the upcoming Warner Bros. film adaptation of Mandrake the Magician, according to reports on Tuesday.

Sacha Baron Cohen To Star In ‘Mandrake the Magician’ Film

Based on the 1934 Lee Falk newspaper comic strip, the plot centers around the adventures of Mandrake — an illusionist and escape artist with the power to hypnotize his enemies. The magician travels the world solving mysteries and fighting crime, alongside his sidekick Lothar.

The character will reportedly be updated to reflect modern times in the film, with Mandrake being recruited by the United States government for a secret mission.

Tropic Thunder director Etan Cohen is set to direct the comic adaptation and the most recent drafts of the script were written by David and Janet Peoples and Puss In Boots writer Tom Wheeler.

Baron Cohen will also produce through his Four by Two Films, with Charles Roven and Andy Horowtiz, who are producing through Atlas Entertainment. Rocky Shepard is set to executive produce, and Cate Adams and Jesse Ehrman will oversee the project for Warner Bros. Studio.

A Mandrake movie has reportedly been in development for years, undergoing numerous changes. Hayden Christensen and Jonathan Rhys Meyers were previously attached to the project.

The upcoming Mandrake film marks the first adaptation of the character since the 1954 TV movie starring Coe Norton, and the first feature adaptation since Columbia Pictures’ Mandrake, The Magician in 1939, starring Warren Hull.