Warner Bros. Options Comic Mandrake the Magician for Film

Warner Bros. has acquired the film rights to the comic strip character Mandrake the Magician.

Created by Lee Falk, Mandrake the Magician has been mystifying readers since 1934. The dapper, mustached magician works his debonair magic and uses his legendary powers of hypnotism and illusion to combat crime.

This wouldn't be the first time the character appeared on screen. Warren Hull played Mandrake the Magician in a 12-episode serial that was released in 1939. In 1954, a made-for-television film featuring the character aired with Coe Norton starring, with another television movie in 1979 starring Anthony Herrera.

Not unlike what it did for Sherlock Holmes, the studio intends to give Mandrake the Magician a freshening while keeping the time period in which the character appears intact.

(Related article: The Hollywood Reporter.)