Tyler Perry steps into Morgan Freeman's gumshoes

Actor Tyler Perry accepts the Chairman's award at the 41st Annual NAACP Image Awards at the Shrine auditorium in Los Angeles February 26, 2010.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - For his next gig, Tyler Perry is losing the wig and donning the suit of detective-psychologist Alex Cross.

The "Madea" mastermind will take on the James Patterson-created character in an untitled film to be directed by Rob Cohen ("The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor").

Morgan Freeman played the role in two studio movies, 1997's "Kiss The Girls" and 2001's "Along Came a Spider." The producer of the new film, QED, will sell worldwide rights in a few weeks at European Film Market in Berlin.

Patterson's creation has proved to be an enduring one since his debut in 1993's "Along Came a Spider." His 18th novel featuring Alex Cross will be released later this year.

Idris Elba ("The Wire") was due to portray the detective in an indie due to be directed by David Twohy, but that adaptation appears to be shelved for now.

Perry is best known for his voluminous work as a director-screenwriter-producer of urban dramas and for playing the outspoken black female character of Madea in many of his movies. This would be the first major role Perry has undertaken that doesn't involve one of his projects.