Houdini: Ben Affleck cast as the lead but not playing the magician

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Ben Affleck has joined the cast of Disney's upcoming Harry Houdini movie, but don't expect him to appear as the legendary escape artist. According to a report by SlashFilm, Affleck will play "a supporting character who is some kind of agent" and may travel in the same circles as Houdini.

Based on William Kalush and Larry Sloman’s book The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero, the long-gestating project is set to be helmed by 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg. Recently, the on-again-off-again endeavor was paid special attention by Studio's Jeff Robinoz, who set the film up at Disney.

In what we know about the film so far, the project boasts a script by Noah Oppenheim (Jackie), which focuses on the vaudeville alum turned escape artist, Harry 'Handcuff' Houdini. In addition to his role as a master illusionist, Houdini also investigated the occult and was known to embark on mythic adventures. When Disney's upcoming feature makes its debut, it's to be thought that the project will focus on more than Houdini's crowd-pleasing illusions.

Here's the official synopsis for The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero:, per Amazon:

Handcuff King. Escape Artist. International Superstar. Since his death eighty years ago, Harry Houdini’s life has been chronicled in books, in film, and on television. Now, in this groundbreaking biography, renowned magic expert William Kalush and bestselling writer Larry Sloman team up to find the man behind the myth. Drawing from millions of pages of research, they describe in vivid detail the passions that drove Houdini to perform ever-more-dangerous feats, his secret life as a spy, and a pernicious plot to subvert his legacy. The Secret Life of Houdini traces the arc of the master magician’s life from desperate poverty to worldwide fame — his legacy later threatened by a group of fanatical Spiritualists led by esteemed British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Initiating the reader along the way into the arcane world of professional magic, Kalush and Sloman decode a life based on deception, providing an intimate and riveting portrayal of Houdini, the man, and the legend.

Knowing that Affleck isn't playing Houdini, who would you like to see play the illusionist in Disney's upcoming film? I personally think that Joaquin Phoenix would be a great fit. Not only is he an exceptional actor but he also shares Houdini's Hungarian roots. Who would you cast in the role of Harry Houdini? Let us know in the comments section below.