Will Ferrell decides not to play Ronald Reagan for a new film

UPDATE: And... He's out. After an uproar about the perceived content and tone of the film, Ferrell has backed away from the film{ =nofollow}, issuing a statement that he wasn't firmly committed in the first place. "The Reagan script is one of a number of scripts that had been submitted to Will Ferrell which he had considered," his spokesface tells The Hollywood Reporter. "While it is by no means an 'Alzheimers comedy' as has been suggested, Mr. Ferrell is not pursuing this project."

Is Will Ferrell looking to work his way through playing all of the US Presidents? So far he has one main entry – George W. Bush, various times – but now, according to Variety, he's adding Ronald Reagan to the list for a film simply called Reagan.

Mike Rosolio's screenplay, which found a home on the Black List of praised unproduced scripts, is set at the start of the former president's second term as dementia begins to take hold of his mind. An ambitious intern is ordered to find a way to convince the president that he's actually an actor playing the leader of the free world in a movie, hoping that digging into Reagan's entertainment past will help prop him up for the remainder of his term.

It's hardly the first time Reagan has been portrayed on screen – Alan Rickman, for example, brought him to life in The Butler – but focusing on his deteriorating state of mind might prove controversial. Still, Ferrell and Adam McKay's Gary Sanchez company is pushing ahead with touting the idea to studios and looking for a director to take the project on.

Ferrell will next be seen in The House opposite Amy Poehler, which is out in June 2017 across the pond, but has no UK date set yet.