Magic Roadshow

Benedict Cumberbatch is attached to star inThe War Magician, a World War II epic tale that Studio Canal is financing.

Storyscape Entertainment principals Bob Cooper and Richard Saperstein, who made the announcement on Tuesday, are producing the pic, which has Garry Whitta adapting the fact-based book by David Fisher. No director currently is on board the project.

Cumberbatch will portray British hero Jasper Maskelyne, the titular spellbinder whose clever illusions helped the Allied forces fight the Nazis during World War II.

According to the producers, Maskelyne put together a rag‐tag “dirty dozen” of accomplices dubbed “The Magic Gang” who used illusion tricks to hide strategic targets such as the Alexandria harbor near the Suez Canal, in the process concealing 150,000 men with 1,000 guns and tanks. The book says the illusions helped turn the tide of the war against General Rommel and the Germans in North Africa, leading up to the Battle of El Alamein. Read more.. (photo via Wikipedia)

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/benedict-cumberbatch-star-world-war-846899