Now You See Me director teams up with Sacha Baron Cohen to make spy comedy

By Mike Vago | December 5, 2013 | 5:10pm

Aux Features Film

After directing magicians-turned-master-thieves movie Now You See Me, director Louis Leterrier has decided to turn to something less silly: a comedy with Sacha Baron Cohen. Cohen had been hoping to bounce back from The Dictator with a Freddie Mercury biopic, but after being pushed out of that film, he went to work developing a spy spoof. The result, Grimsby, has a slightly new twist to the well-worn genre that spoofs another well-worn genre. In it, a suave British black-ops agent has to go on the run with his long-lost brother, a football hooligan. It's unclear as yet which role Cohen will play, or who will act opposite him, or if he'll play both roles, like in The Dictator.

Cohen reportedly sought a director with an action background who could sell the film's spy elements, while Leterrier, eager to work with Cohen, has been pursuing the project ever since finishing Now You See Me. So, everyone's happy. Except the football hooligans, naturally, who—should they be unhappy with their portrayal—will get rip-roaring drunk, stab someone, and light a car on fire. On the other hand, if they're happy, they'll get rip-roaring drunk, stab someone, and light a car on fire. Ah, the glory of sport.