Tom Cruise is set to produce and star in an adaptation of David Fisher's book The War Magician for Paramount. The Oscar-nominated actor would play the role of a British conjurer who became a hero during the second world war.
Published in 1983, the War Magician recounts the true-life tale of Jasper Maskelyne, the grandson of the man who founded the Magic Circle, who adapted his illusionist arts to aid the allied war effort. Stationed in Egypt as part of the Royal Engineer's Camouflage Corps, Maskelyne perfected techniques in camouflage that revolutionised modern warfare. He used mirrors to conceal machine-gun nests, disguised tanks as humble supply trucks and created decoy armies in the desert. Maskelyne's bizarre innovations are thought to have been instrumental in winning the war in the Middle East.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Paramount have commissioned an initial treatment of the book by Nancy Hersage and Shirley Tallman but have yet to decide upon a screenwriter. Cruise will produce the film alongside Paula Wagner and the studio is hoping that the project becomes the actor's next vehicle after he completes work on Steven Spielberg's Minority Report. If all goes according to plan, The War Magician could begin shooting in the autumn.