Channing Tatum is Duke in the G.I. Joe Movie

Yes, you heard that right. Channing Tatum will be playing Duke, leader of the G.I. Joes, in the upcoming “G.I. Joe” movie. So who the heck is Tatum? Hell if I know. Here’s what AICN, who broke the news, says about him: “…a 27 year old actor from Alabama.” Well I’m sure he’s more than that. He also played “Boy in church scene” in Spielberg’s “War of the Worlds”. Um.

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Coming up – I’ve heard really strong word on his performance in Kimberly Peirce’s STOP LOSS, coming up this March 28th. He’s also headling a film with Terrence Howard and Luis Guzman for ROGUE PICTURES called FIGHTING. He’s a young actor that is on the rise. Now I figure the biggest complaint that’s coming is that he’s just 27 – and that Duke should be played by a more battle-tested aged badass.

According to his bio on IMDB.com, Tatum knows kung fu. And oh yeah, he’ll also be in Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies” as originally reported here.

Update: The Hollywood Reporter confirms the casting of Tatum; the role, they mention, was originally offered to Sam Worthington, who was too busy doing Cameron’s “Avatar” to play Duke.