Earlier this year, Apple acquired Project Artemis for a little over $100 million, but since that time, the project has had some major shakeups. Project Artemis was originally set to be directed by Jason Bateman and star Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans, but Bateman wound up stepping down due to creative differences last month. The latest change was announced today as Channing Tatum has stepped in to replace Chris Evans.
Plot details for Project Artemis are being kept under wraps, but Jason Bateman has previously teased that the film would be a romantic comedy set around the moon landing. In addition to Channing Tatum joining up, it was also announced that Greg Berlanti will direct Project Artemis for Apple. “We are thrilled to welcome Greg Berlanti and Channing Tatum to Project Artemis,” said Jonathan Lia, These Pictures Co-Founder. “Greg’s passion for character and storytelling has driven his decades long career in film & TV. We couldn’t be more excited for him to lead our team on this journey. We have been huge fans of Channing’s for a long time and are so honored to finally have the opportunity to work with him.” After Jason Bateman departed, the schedule shifted and Chris Evans wound up facing conflicts with his upcoming movies Pain Hustlers and Big Red One. Rose Gilroy wrote the script for Project Artemis, with Scarlett Johansson producing alongside Jonathan Lia and Keenan Flynn.
Greg Berlanti is best known as the super-producer behind The CW’s Arrowverse, but he’s also directed a handful of movies, including Life as We Know It with Josh Duhamel and Katherine Heigl and Love, Simon with Nick Robinson. Channing Tatum was most recently seen starring alongside Sandra Bullock in The Lost City and is currently shooting Pussy Island, the directorial debut of Zoë Kravitz. He also recently wrapped production on Magic Mike’s Last Dance.
