by: S. Scott Stanikmas

Evel Knievel was a man who was equally loved for his stunts and daredevil nature and hated for his questionable nature in his personal life. It’s this dichotomy that makes for excellent movies. And it looks like the perfect director has been found to translate Evel’s life to the big screen.

The Tracking Board is reporting that Peter Berg is now off the Evel Knievel biopic and that Darren Aronofsky will now take over. Deadline is saying that Aronofsky doesn’t have a contract in place but that strong talks are happening.

Aronofsky is a great choice. His ability to pull nuanced performances from his actors should help in creating an onscreen persona that people can both admire for his bravery and loathe for his outright dickishness.

And just who will put on the red, white and blue jumpsuit? The Tracking Board also reports that Channing Tatum will fill the role and play the world’s most famous daredevil.

Tatum has been into this role for years now. He even spoke recently on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon about how much he wants this role. I don’t know how well Tatum will fill this role, but sometimes a little enthusiasm for a role goes a long way.

With the project essentially starting from scratch (reports are that Scott Silver is rewriting the script that Tatum’s producing partner Reid Carolin worked on) there is no word as to when we can expect filming to begin in this one. Keep checking back for more news as it becomes available.