If things go the way they are looking, Channing Tatum will soon be able to add ‘director’ to his CV. The 21 Jump Street and Magic Mike actor is considering taking on the role of director for the sequel to the massive hit Magic Mike, which saw the actor playing the role of a buff stripper. Working that camera as well as he worked the pole (objectification, we know, but the film does call for it) will be no easy feat however as it means taking over from renowned director Steven Soderbergh (Erin Brokovich, Behind the Candelabra, Side Effects).

Taking all this on board, Tatum is said to welcome the return of Soderbergh, even if he will only return as director of photography. He stated ‘Either Reid Carolin and I will direct it together, or we'll have Greg Jacobs direct. He worked as a producer on the [2012] movie and has been Steven's right-hand man for almost 25 movies [...] Right now, we're just trying to clean up the story, and then we'll make a decision. But it is hard for me and Reid to direct after one of the greatest directors of our time. Steven has argued [for us to do so]. He has said he would shoot it; he would DP it’. We say go for it Tatum, nobody thinks you’re trying to usurp the Soderbergh throne, and it might even lay rest as to whether there are brains behind the brawns.

In other movie news, following the announcement that Sandra Bullock has turned down the role as Miss Hannigan in the film remake of Annie, it has been confirmed that Cameron Diaz will take over. Diaz was refreshingly un-P.C. in Bad Teacher, which in a way is a modern day version of the role anyway. Will Smith will produce the musical adaptation, with Will Gluck (Easy A) as director.

Another star busy whipping up new features is Kiera Knightley, who will have her hands full with new project The Other Typist. The film depicts a solitary young woman working as a typist who is thrust into the hectic and colourful world of New York City. Surprise surprise, it is another period piece, set in the 1920s. Her accent and period drama look may see Knightley return to bygone eras again and again in her films, but she never hems herself in, with this latest project seeing her as producer as well as the lead.

 

Lastly, both Jeff Goldbum and Bill Pullman have agreed to return for the long overdue sequel Independence Day 2. With Goldblum’s last memorable film being Cats & Dogs- in which he was honestly out-acted by the special effects animals- it’s about time the old Independence Day crew got together and threw him a bone. He may have the money but there’s still that sense of desperation considering the stream of b-list films he’s had over the last decade; the sense that in the big leagues he is the odd friend who lives in your garage. Recent work such as The Killer Inside Me makes Pullman less of a nostalgic presence, but one we still can’t wait to see teamed up with the old gang. Rumours that Will Smith may potentially be corralled into returning for a cameo, the sequel project finally seems to have found its feet.