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Usher In Talks To Play Younger Morgan Freeman In Assassin Flick

Hollywood veteran plans to direct and co-star in action-suspense movie.

One is an Oscar-winning thespian, known for his subtle charm, tender voice and the world-weary face he's acquired in his almost 70 years. The other, about to turn 27, is a multiplatinum singer known for his boyish visage and a set of six-pack abs.

At first glance, Morgan Freeman and Usher have little in common. If the development of a new project comes together, however, the two will end up being one and the same.

"I'm a younger Morgan Freeman," Usher laughed.

"I sat with Morgan Freeman to talk about a script that he put together for both of us," the singer said of a recent meeting with the "Shawshank Redemption" star. The in-development film, the title of which he insisted he couldn't mention, was brought to him by Freeman himself. "It's for both of us, possibly for next year."

Freeman intends to use the script for his first directorial effort since the 1993 drama "Bopha!," while Usher sees the film as part of a master plan to take on more meaningful roles than the secondary characters he's played in years past. "I play an assassin," Usher revealed. "I play him in retrospective. I play [Freeman] as a younger character, and it takes place in Cuba.

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"It's a very, very, very cool script," he continued. "The type of script that you would want to have yourself involved in -- a character that I've never seen, that I could never identify with. That's basically what I look for. ... I go after those scripts where it's a character that one, would not be typically played by somebody like myself based off of what you know of Usher, and two, something that kind of gives you a little bit of edge."

Usher called the opportunity to play a younger version of the esteemed Hollywood veteran "the greatest compliment of my life," adding, "He's such a graceful person. He's such a wonderful individual."

If the role comes together, the R&B hitmaker would have to commit to some heavy lifting, including a crash course in mimicking Freeman's trademark glances and soft-but-stern line delivery. "That's all a part of it," he said, insisting he's up for the challenge. "You have to prepare for it."

The film, which Usher described as having suspense and action, would set his scenes in the '60s and juxtapose them with Freeman's, set in a contemporary context. After a four-year absence from the silver screen, Usher returns to theaters next month with the mafia comedy "In the Mix," formerly titled "Dying for Dolly" (see [article id="1496311"]"Usher Breaks Form In 'Dying For Dolly' By Not Dancing"[/article]). As of now, he has not yet signed on to the Freeman project.

A spokesperson for Freeman could not be reached by press time.

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