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Sacha Baron Cohen unrecognisable in trailer for Netflix movie 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'

Sacha Baron Cohen looks unrecognisable in the first trailer for the forthcoming, star-studded civil rights drama The Trial of the Chicago 7.

Cohen plays counterculture icon Abbie Hoffman in the movie, the activist behind the Youth International Party – or the Yippies – and one of the seven arrested for conspiracy and inciting violence during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in anti-Vietnam War protests.

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Penned and directed by The West Wing and The Social Network scribe Aaron Sorkin, a stunning cast has been assembled to tell the story of the unrest which dogged the convention in Chicago.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Credit: Netflix)
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix)

Watchmen star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays Bobby Searle in the dramatisation, activist and co-founder of the Black Panthers.

Also featuring on the pretty dazzling bill are Michael Keaton, Frank Langella, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeremy Strong, Eddie Redmayne, Mark Rylance and William Hurt.

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Sorkin first penned the movie back in 2007, with Steven Spielberg all set to direct it with a cast of unknown actors.

Abbie Hoffman, leader of the Youth International Party known as the Yippies, is escorted by police after his arrest at O'Hare Field in Chicago upon his arrival from New York on Sept. 17, 1968.  He was sought for not appearing in court on Sept. 6 to answer charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.  Police said a switchblade knife and a knife with a four-inch blade was found on Hoffman, who was then booked on charges of unlawful use of weapon. At left is his attorney Gerald B. Lafcourt. (AP Photo)
Abbie Hoffman is escorted by police after his arrest at O'Hare Field in Chicago upon his arrival from New York on 1968. (AP)

However, the Hollywood writers' strike that same year shuttered the project, though directors Paul Greengrass and Ben Stiller were later linked to it.

In 2018, Sorkin announced that he'd be directing the movie instead, with Netflix picking up the production from original producers Paramount, which sold the rights in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The movie will hit Netflix in October.