The Oscar-nominated actor Austin Butler is scheduled to take on the role of the disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong in a buzzy new biopic.
According to Deadline, the package has caused a “frenzied” bidding war in Hollywood with the Conclave director Edward Berger at the helm and King Richard’s Zach Baylin set to write the script.
Producer Scott Stuber, who recently worked on Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, has been working to secure Armstrong’s life rights for a while and a deal has now finally been agreed. Armstrong will be involved in the film but will not have a producing credit.
The hope is for the film to be a cross between F1 and The Wolf of Wall Street. Brad Pitt’s smash-hit racing drama recently scored four Oscar nominations, including a surprise best picture nod.
Armstrong became an international star after winning the Tour de France on seven consecutive occasions between 1998 and 2005. But an investigation in 2012 took away his titles when he was found to have used performance-enhancing drugs. He received a lifetime ban from the sport.
His story was previously told in Stephen Frears’ 2015 drama The Program, where he was played by Ben Foster. The film was a box office disappointment and received mixed reviews. The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw called it “workmanlike” in a three star review.
Since receiving a best actor nomination for his role in Elvis, Butler has starred in The Bikeriders, Eddington, Dune: Part Two, and Caught Stealing. He has been attached to play Patrick Bateman in Luca Guadagnino’s take on American Psycho and will next be seen in the crime thriller Enemies with Jeremy Allen White.
Berger followed up the critical and commercial success of the papal thriller Conclave with the Netflix drama Ballad of a Small Player starring Colin Farrell. This week, he started filming an adaptation of Tim Winton’s acclaimed novel The Riders starring Brad Pitt.
As well as writing the Oscar-nominated script for King Richard, Baylin’s credits include Creed III, Gran Turismo, Bob Marley: One Love and recent Netflix series Black Rabbit.
