Do we need yet another Lance Armstrong biopic? Haven’t there been enough already? Especially one that Armstrong himself is in favor of? Doesn’t sound particularly hard-hitting, does it? Well, at least it will have Conclave director Edward Berger and star Austin Butler, which is a pretty sweet duo.
Deadline has the news on this new Lance Armstrong movie, which has sparked a major bidding war among the biggest studios. The film will have a script by King Richard and The Order scribe, Zach Baylin. Producer Scott Stuber acquired Armstrong’s life rights in order to make the movie. No surprise, as Stuber and Armstrong are close friends.
Armstrong’s story is well-known. The seven-time Tour de France winner overcame cancer, becoming a hero to most of the world in the process. However, after years of accusations and denials, he finally admitted to blood doping, an admission that destroyed his cycling career.
Ben Foster gave an incredible performance as Armstrong in Stephen Frears’ The Program, but that was eleven years ago. The 2020 ESPN doc Lance earned critical acclaim, even if Armstrong himself didn’t really dig it.
As for Berger, he just keeps piling on projects. It was just days ago that he signed on to direct Stradivarius, a violin-making drama for Netflix. He’s also set to work with Butler on the sci-fi project, The Barrier, and Brad Pitt on The Riders. It’s unclear where this Armstrong movie fits into his schedule, or if any of these movies will even happen.
