Quentin Tarantino's known for assembling varied -- and often just plain strange -- casts for his films, and his upcoming western "Django Unchained" is no exception.

Abrasive, shape-shifting comic actor Sacha Baron Cohen ("Bruno," and, as pictured, "Borat") is in talks to join the likes of Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kurt Russell and Christoph Waltz in the film.

Tarantino successfully cast mike Meyers as a small, but pivotal character in 2009's "Inglourious Basterds," and Variety reports that Cohen is being courted for a similarly brief role that Tarantino is very particular about.

"Django" centers on a runaway slave (Foxx) who learns the tricks of the bounty hunter trade from Waltz, in order to rescue his wife (Kerry Washington) from the cruel grip of slavemaster (DiCaprio) who runs a brothel known as Candyland. Cohen would play Scotty, a gambler who temporarily owns Django's wife, and, we can hope, exchanges some choice words with Django that lead into a scene featuring explosive violence.

Baron Cohen will soon be seen in another film by a high-profile auteur, Martin Scorsese's "Hugo," which opens November 23. He'll star in "The Dictator" next summer.

"Django" is aiming for a December 25, 2012 release.