Will Ferrell

Will Ferrell is taking on the Oval Office.  The funnyman has been tapped to portray former President Ronald Reagan in a upcoming feature film.

The film, called simply Reagan, doesn’t have a director yet, but Ferrell recently inked a deal with Gary Sanchez Productions to do the gig.

According to Variety, “Ferrell will play Regan at the beginning of his second term, when he falls into dementia and an ambitious intern is tasked with convincing him that he is an actor playing the president in a movie.”

Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 1994, but there was  speculation that he showed early signs during his presidency, which was denied by his administration and his primary physician. He died in 2004.

The announcement of Ferrell playing Reagan was met with immediate backlash. Though Ferrell has tinkered with a serious role here and there, he is known for being a comedian.

Michael Reagan, President Reagan’s eldest son, took to Twitter to voice his anger, tweeting, “What an Outrag….Alzheimers is not joke…It kills..You should be ashamed all of you.”

Filming has not begun on the project yet, so there is still time to rethink how the movie will be done.