Over the past few years, Anna Faris has shown a wide array of talents. Beyond anchoring the "Scary Movie" franchise, she's dabbled in serious drama ("Brokeback Mountain," "Lost in Translation"), black comedy ("Serve and Protect") and even a little animation ("Yogi Bear"). Yes, it's clear Faris has the skills to pay the bills.

But can she take dictation?

Well, we're about to find out, because The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Faris has just signed on to play opposite Sacha Baron Cohen in his upcoming comedy "The Dictator."

 You may recall that just last week, we reported Faris was among three superstar ladies of comedy reading for the role of "the owner of a Whole Foods-style store in New York." But as much as we love Kristen Wiig and "Community"'s Gillian Jacobs, it seems that producers preferred Faris, who should prove to be a fine match for Cohen when it comes to the kind of improvisational comedy required from a project like "The Dictator."

Described by Paramount as "the heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed," "The Dictator" is clearly inspired by Charlie Chaplin's classic 1940 comedy "The Great Dictator." Like Chaplin, Cohen will be playing both the titular dictator as well as a regular guy (in this case, a goat herder, as opposed to Chaplin's barber).

And with Ben Kingsley and Jason Mantzoukas also on board as "fellows from the Middle East," it seems that Cohen is looking to take aim at contemporary politics in the same way that Chaplin lampooned Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime.

"The Dictator" is scheduled to begin filming on June 5 with a likely release date next year, but you won't have to wait that long to see Faris in action; her next film, "What's Your Number?," opens on Sept. 30.

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