Ben Affleck to star in Disney's Harry Houdini movie, but not as the magician

Aside from reprising his role as Batman for the upcoming movie version of The Flash, it seems Ben Affleck will be busy with another film project as it’s been announced that he will be starring in Disney’s Harry Houdini movie.

The film will be directed by 10 Cloverfield Lane and Black Mirror director Dan Trachtenberg and is based on William Kalush and Larry Sloman’s book, The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero. 

Born in Hungary in 1874, Harry Houdini is a professional magician known for his stunning and grand acts of escape. This includes attempts to escape from items such as handcuffs and straitjackets, to locations like the belly of a whale or boxes submerged underwater. 

However, while Affleck’s involvement with the film is exciting, to say the least, it’s been reported by /Flim that Affleck will, in fact, not be playing the role of Houdini. The actor will instead appear as “a supporting character who is some kind of agent.” Not much else is known about the character beyond that simple statement. 

However, what is known is that Houdini’s manager did play a big role in getting Houdini to tour Europe as a magician, and Harry Day, Houdini’s British agent, was integral in turning Houdini into a highly successful star. It is likely that Affleck will be taking on either one of these roles. 

Regardless of the role Affleck will be taking, the film has already garnered significant attention by having Affleck be involved and we can only hope that a film based on one of the greatest magician and illusionist in history will be one that is worth watching. 

This article was first published in Geek Culture.