Sacha Baron Cohen Will Star in and Produce Mandrake the Magician Adaptation

A childish anti-Western dictator, a dancing lemur, a Pamela Anderson-loving reporter and a flashy Austrian fashionista. What’s really left for Sacha Baron Cohen to play? Apparently, a superhero magician is the next thing in store for the British comedic actor. Cohen is set to star in and produce Mandrake the Magician, an adaptation of a classic comic strip, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Mandrake the Magician was created by Lee Falk in the ‘30s. Mandrake’s character is a magician who can hypnotize at an unusually fast speed. He uses this power for good to defeat gangsters, mad scientists and aliens. At his side is Lothar, an African strongman. Lothar, clad in leopard skin, is impervious to weapons and magic and is Mandrake’s sidekick and best friend.

Warner Bros has owned the rights to the character since 2012, according to THR.

Etan Cohen, the writer of Tropic Thunder, Idiocracy and more, is directing the film, after making his directorial debut last year with Get Hard.

The Mandrake the Magician movie is still in early development, and the script has yet to be written.