Tatum is back in action

Channing Tatum has been in nearly every genre this year so far, and yet 2012 isn’t even close to being half over. He’s flexed his action muscle (Haywire), he’s given heart to a romantic drama (The Vow), he’s made audiences laugh (21 Jump Street), and next he’s set to dance his way into theaters with the stripper dramedy Magic Mike, along with a quick turn back to action in G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Now, it seems he’ll continue with the action as the actor may be headed to a very coveted place: The Oval Office.

Variety reports that Tatum is currentily in advanced talks with Sony Pictures to star in the action film White House Down, directed by Roland Emmerich (The Patriot, Independence Day). Tatum is the first cast of the feature, and will be playing the lead role of a Secret Service agent. Casting is still underway for who will be playing the President of the United States, the head of the Secret Service, and the villain of the film.

The movie deals with Tatum’s role having to save the president after a threat overcomes the White House and risking the life of the world’s most powerful man. It’s being described as Die Hard in the famous Washington D.C. building, and was written by James Vanderbilt. Production is scheduled to begin later this summer with a release likely to be aiming for next year’s Fourth of July weekend.

After Magic Mike, Tatum’s schedule is pretty much wide open, so he could easily reach a deal with Sony soon. The actor is currently filming Steven Soderbergh’s The Bitter Pill in New York City, while he’s also set to produce the Peter Pan filmNeverland with Warrior‘s Gavin O’Connor attached to direct. On top of that, Jonah Hill and Scott Bacall are currently working together on the script for a 21 Jump Street sequel which was greenlit back in March after a highly successful opening for the R-rated comedy. Tatum is expected to return as Jenko in the second film, but no deals have been made yet.