We just got word from The Tracking Board that Oscar-nominated Darren Aronofsky might be climbing on board to direct the long awaited Evel Knievel biopic, that Channing Tatum is producing and starring in. You know Aronofsky from The Wrestler, Black Swan, and more recently, Noah. 

Tatum will play the title role in Pure Evel, a role which will require him to be extremely fit… oh, wait…that isn’t a problem. Okay, for those unfamiliar with Evel Knievel, it’s an extraordinary story. He was an American stuntman by the name of Robert Craig Knievel, who became world famous after attempting a slew of daredevil acts that you should not try at home. Knievel completed over 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps between 1965-1980, then there was his canyon jump across Snake River Canyon in a steam-powered rocket and his jump into a tank full of sharks. Needless to say, this guy broke a lot of bones during the course of his career–433 to be exact. This earned him an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records for “most bones broken in a lifetime.”

There have been several documentaries made about Knievel (including Being Evel produced by Johnny Knoxville), but I’m excited to see what Aronofsky does with the story. Fans of his will know that he has a history of making films about people who test themselves to an extreme, whether it’s ballet, wrestling, or building an arc. Knievel is a perfect example of someone who truly tested himself; no matter how many times he crashed, he always got back up and started again.

There is currently no release date for Pure Evel, but we’ll report on more as soon as humanly possible!

What do you think of Channing Tatum in the title role? This isn’t the first time Darren Aranofsky has been close to directing a film we would kill to see; let’s revisit the time he came close to helming a Batman movie:

—

HT: Vulture, The Tracking Board, Evel Knievel

IMAGES: Den of Geek/Getty Images