Colin Trevorrow To Direct Benedict Cumberbatch In Studiocanal’s ‘War Magician’

EXCLUSIVE: Fresh from wrapping Jurassic World: Dominion, Colin Trevorrow is set to direct War Magician, a Studiocanal WWII drama that will star Benedict Cumberbatch. E. Nicholas Mariani is writing the script, based on the book by David Fisher.

Pic is based on the wild story of Jasper Maskelyne, a British illusionist who used magic to defeat Erwin Rommel in World War II. Trevorrow’s take features an international “magic gang” from Africa, Europe and the Middle East who conspired with Maskelyne and a female military intelligence officer to defeat the Nazis.

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Pic is produced by Landscape Entertainment’s Bob Cooper, SunnyMarch’s Cumberbatch, Leah Clarke and Adam Ackland, Lonetree’s Tony Eldridge and Bluestone’s Richard Saperstein. Joining as producers are Trevorrow and his Metronome Films. Studiocanal’s Ron Halpern and Shana Eddy are overseeing with Metronome’s Jeff Gernert and Annys Hamilton. Earlier drafts of the script were written by Richard Cordiner and Gary Whitta.

Trevorrow’s Metronome is based in the UK, where he shot Jurassic World: Dominion. At Universal, the company is developing Atlantis and Space Opera, the latter of which Marc Platt is producing with Trevorrow.

Trevorrow is repped by Verve.

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