Will Ferrell Will Play a President in a Movie, But Not the One You Think

Though the president Will Ferrell is most closely associated with is George W. Bush, whom he impersonated frequently as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, the actor is set to play one of Bush’s Republican predecessors, Ronald Reagan, in an upcoming satirical movie currently titled Reagan. Variety reports that the actor has signed on to star in and produce the film, the screenplay for which was among recent favorites on Hollywood’s Black List, a list of the most promising scripts that remain unproduced.

Penned by big-screen newcomer Mike Rosolio, Reagan focuses on the president during his later years, as he is beginning to suffer from dementia. Its somewhat meta (and, it’s worth noting, fictitious) plot finds a young intern tasked with convincing him that he is once again an actor, playing the role of the president in a movie.

Back in March, Lena Dunham and John Cho starred in a live reading of the script, inciting Internet outrage among some that Dunham, a vocal supporter of Hillary Clinton, was cast as Reagan speech writer Peggy Noonan.