He may not be the most popular hero around, but there are plenty who remember Mandrake the Magician from the old Defenders of the Universe cartoon. "Master of magic spells and illusions!", he was known as on the Saturday 'toon, but his comic book origins begin way back in 1934 as a creation of Lee Falk. A Mandrake film has been in the works since at least 2009 and picked back up again in 2012, but Warner Bros. is only now just conjuring up its star in Sacha Baron Cohen.
The Tracking Board reports the news of Cohen agreeing to play the heroic illusionist, but it's probably a good idea not to take this as gospel until a confirmation arrives. Joining Cohen is the similarly-named but not at all related Etan Cohen, who will direct from a script most recently written by Tom Wheeler. Cohen recently made his directorial debut on the Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart comedy, Get Hard. He also wrote Tropic Thunder, Men in Black 3, and is attached to a Cannonball Run remake.
Mandrake is considered by some to be the first superhero, having preceded Superman by five years. He travels around the globe battling evil using his powers of hypnosis, along with his skills as an illusionist and hypnotist. Often he teams up with Lothar, the African "Prince of the Seven Nations", recognized as the strongest man in the world.
This is one project that has had a ton of talent attached at various points without ever going anywhere, so while the Cohen & Cohen Connection may be promising, let's wait and see if it actually happens.
