Black Swan Director Signs on for Channing Tatum Evel Knievel Biopoic - Report

Black Swan and Requiem for a Dream director Darren Aronofsky is in discussions with Sony Pictures to direct an Evel Knievel biopic starring Channing Tatum as the American professional stuntman.

That's according to a new report today from The Tracking Board, which says Aronofsky has taken over for former director Peter Berg (Lone Survivor, Lions for Lambs), who dropped out "for unknown reasons."

The site also reports that the Evel Knievel movie's script has undergone a re-write from by Scott Silver. He's perhaps best known for his work on The Fighter and 8 Mile.

Separately, Deadline's sources say Aronofsky's involvement in the Evel Knievel movie is not a done deal. They report that Aronofsky is only in "early negotiations" with Sony for the movie.

Aronofsky's latest movie was 2014's Noah, which offered a new take on the Bible story, featuring Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly in lead roles.

Born Robert Craig Knievel, he got his start in the daredevil business in 1965 with a troupe known as Evel Knievel's Motorcycle Daredevils. They jumped over fire walls, rattlesnakes, and mountain lions. He later went off on his own, famously jumping 151 feet across the fountains at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.

"He cleared the fountains, but the crash landing put him in the hospital in a coma for a month," wrote CBS News in his 2007 obituary. By the time he retired in 1980, he had suffered nearly 40 broken bones.