After putting him through the ringer courtesy of Gina Carano in the upcoming Haywire (hint: she beats seven bells out of him), Steven Soderbergh has been finding ways to make it up to Channing Tatum. But while making a film based on his experiences as a teen stripper is a start, it’ll still mean the man getting his kit off. Still, all his diligence could be about to pay off as rumour has it he’s in line to star in **The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Soderbergh has been slowly putting together the pieces for the film, which Contagion’s Scott Z Burns has adapted from the 1960s TV show. The original series saw Robert Vaughn and David McCallum as two globetrotting members of team dedicated to fighting international crime.
Trouble is, the director hasn’t had much luck locking in lead actors. George Clooney was supposed to take on Vaughn’s Napoleon Solo role, but bowed out due to worries about aggravating the back injuries he incurred working on 2005’s Syriana. Then Bradley Cooper was in line to handle the part, but he dropped out last week.
According to Deadline, Tatum is on Soderbergh’s mind as the man for the job, but there’s no formal offer in place yet. Since they’re both at work on the stripper pic (Magic Mike), there’s plenty of time for them to talk over the idea. And given Tatum’s action man background (literally, when you consider **G.I. Joe **and its sequel), he’s certainly got the stunt chops. We’ll have to wait and see if it develops further.
**Haywire **will be out on January 20.