Sacha Baron Cohen Shakes & Stirs a Spy Spoof Up At Paramount

After many years of poking and prodding foreign cultures (most notably a 'lil place called the U.S. and A) British funny man Sacha Baron Cohen is ready to turn his sights once again on his fellow countrymen. Or at least that's the hope with the announcement that Baron Cohen and Wreck-It-Ralph writer Phil Johnston have sold a Bond-like spy spoof pitch to Paramount under their first-look deal with the studio.

While Baron Cohen's last effort The Dictator wasn't as well received as his big screen breakthrough Borat, nor it's pseudo-followup Bruno, it did earn $160 million worldwide, proving Baron Cohen can still bring in an audience of a considerable size with his biting brand of satire. And with this as-yet-to-be-titled spy spoof, his audience could widen considerably, based on such material's appeal (Though spy spoofs haven't played all that well in America for years, Rowan Atkinson's Johnny English series has been a hit on the international stage). Variety describes the Baron Cohen/Johnston project as such:

Baron Cohen and Phil Johnston have sold an untitled pitch to Paramount that follows a James Bond-like spy forced to go on the run with his long-lost brother, a moronic soccer hooligan.

So the question is, will Baron Cohen star as the James Bond-esque agent or the moronic brother? While he has the charm and stature to pull of the secret agent, my bets are on him playing the hooligan, though I wouldn't put it past him to play both roles. Now, would that be the smartest move? Well only time will tell.