'Magician' reappears with Forster

Forster Having recently wrapped Par's zombie tentpole "World War Z," director Marc Forster is setting his sights on another battlefront: WWII.Forster is attached to helm an adaptation of bestseller "The War Magician" for Lonetree Entertainment, with Lonetree partners Tony Eldridge and Colleen Camp producing.David Fisher book "The War Magician" tells the true story of British magician Jasper Maskelyne, who adapted the core principles of stage magic to warfare in ways that defied the imagination: Among his achievements, Maskelyne hid the port of Alexandria Harbor, made the Suez Canal disappear and tricked Germany's Gen. Erwin Rommel with a phantom army that didn't exist, a ruse that ultimately led to Rommel's defeat and became a turning point of WWII. Many of Maskelyne's inventions are still being utilized in warfare.Book was originally purchased by Tom Cruise and set up at Paramount, with Cruise attached to star, before the actor's deal with the studio fell through and the option ran out on the book.Project reunites Forster with Lonetree; they're also teaming on Sony's "The Equalizer," starring Denzel Washington. "The Equalizer" is being produced by Eldridge, Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Mace Neufeld, Alex Siskin and Michael Sloan.On Wednesday, Lonetree also acquired feature rights to Raymond Benson's retro-superhero book series "The Black Stiletto." Project is currently out to writers.Forster's "World War Z," starring Brad Pitt and based on the graphic novel by Max Brooks, hits theaters this Christmas.Forster is repped by CAA and Management 360. Contact Stuart Oldham at stuart.oldham@variety.com