As the James Bond movie franchise celebrates its 50th anniversary with the release of Skyfall later this year, The Hollywood Reporter has announced that British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has signed a deal with Paramount Pictures to develop an as-yet-untitled comedy project centred around “a James Bond-like spy who ‘is forced to go on the run with his long-lost brother, a moronic soccer hooligan.’”
Bond is of course no stranger to parody; 007 himself was the subject of the unofficial 1967 spoof Casino Royale, which featured the likes of David Niven, Peter Sellers and Woody Allen, while James Coburn appeared as super spy Derek Flint in Our Man Flint and In Like Flint in 1966 and 1967. More recent efforts include Mike Myers’ Austin Powers trilogy, along with the Rowan Atkinson comedies Johnny English and Johnny English Reborn.
Although its undecided whether Sacha Baron Cohen will take an on-screen role in this latest project, The Dictator star is set to pen the script with Phil Johnston, whose credits include Cedar Rapids, along with the upcoming Walt Disney animation Wreck-It Ralph and Alexander Payne’s next offering, Nebraska.
Originally published August 8, 2012. Updated April 10, 2018.
