There are more changes afoot on Apple's planned space thriller Project Artemis, which was originally to have starred Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson, with Jason Bateman calling the shots. Bateman pulled the eject cord after creative differences over the story, which in turn led to Evans leaving because he had other commitments and couldn't make the delayed shooting schedule. Now, though, the movie has Channing Tatum on board to co-star and Greg Berlanti directing.
Quite what the issue was for Bateman we don't know, and the plot itself is still being kept secret – though it's believed to revolve around the space race and moon landing in the 1960s. And the title might also change in future.
Berlanti – who directed Love, Simon but is better known as the showrunner/producer behind half the shows on TV – had a take that Apple and the producers liked. Rose Gilroy wrote the script for the movie.
"We are thrilled to welcome Greg Berlanti and Channing Tatum to Project Artemis, says Jonathan Lia, who co-founded production company These Pictures with Johansson. "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."
This piece of main casting should finally light a rocket under the film, pushing it towards production this year.