Channing Tatum sets his sights on starring in an Evel Knievel biopic

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Channing Tatum’s career has traveled down an interesting road in recent years, with G.I. JOE, THE EAGLE, 21 JUMP STREET, and MAGIC MIKE all appearing in relatively short order. But what’s that you say? Why stop there? Well it happens that Tatum agrees, and so is gunning his throttle full speed ahead with a co-producing and starring turn in a biopic about legendary stuntman Evel Knievel.

Tatum’s producing partner/screenwriter Reid Carolin (MAGIC MIKE) will write the script based on the 2008 book “Life of Evel” by Stuart Barker. There has not been a film about Knievel since the late 1970s, one which Knievel himself starred in, so it seems that the time is rather ripe indeed for a big-budget biopic of the man.

A quick summation of Knievel’s impressive life: Born Robert Craig Knievel, the stuntman became a household name in the 1970s for his nationally televised motorcycle jumps. Ever the showman, Knievel became recognizable for his use of a Stars-and-Stripes getup and known for his 433 broken bones. At the height of his celebrity, he gained endorsements from Harley-Davidson and a toy line by the Ideal Toy Company. Knievel died in 2007 at the age of 69.