ChrisWatts/INFphoto.comNo more movies with Channing Tatum?!
That just seems cruel (and not very sexy).
But before you shed a tear while watching your Magic Mike DVD, let us clarify that the handsome star is simply taking a break—and plans to focus on a directing project with his production partner (and MM screenwriter) Reid Carolin.
"[Reid and I] have about three to four ideas that we love that are all in the hopper," Tatum revealed to EW. "By the end of next year, we're going to shut things down and write the first thing that we're going to direct. We're going to be like, alright, no more acting parts for a minute, let's take a few and really get caring about that section of our career."
But the swoonworthy star still has a few projects brewing before he steps behind the camera. He's already confirmed that a Magic Mike sequel is in the works, and he's been tapped to play Evel Knievel in a Columbia Pictures biopic that he will also produce (Carolin penned the script).
"I love the steps that I've taken acting-wise. That has been a wild sort of exploration," he says. "But I don't want to just keep putting [directing] off for these fun and incredible opportunities."
It's a well-deserved break for Tatum after a whirlwind year. Not only was he crowned People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive, but he also starred in five films, and he has at least another four in the works for 2013, including Steven Soderbergh's Side Effects and the Bennett Miller drama Foxcatcher.
Despite the fact that Channing doesn't have a film school education, he's made a valiant and noteworthy effort in the Hollywood biz. With the success of flicks like Magic Mike and 21 Jump Street, the star has proven he's not just a pretty face, but also a hardworking actor with a passion for learning from his peers.
"I don't think Reid and I would have the balls to try to make a movie without learning what we did from Soderbergh and [assistant director] Greg Jacobs," he says. "It was like a crazy crash course Cliff Notes on directing and how to make movies, literally get them done. We had a Matrix-style download, like a plug in the back of the head and bloop! I know Kung Fu now."
We guess we're on board with a break (as long as those signature stripper moves still make a cameo on the silver screen, natch).