Channing Tatum has probably played a cowboy before, but if this new rumor is true then this time the chaps won’t be ass-less, and the pants won’t be held together by velcro. Deadline is reporting that Tatum is circling a role in Quentin Tarantino’s next film, The Hateful Eight.

Tatum’s casting would be slightly unusual for a Tarantino flick, considering the director rarely uses currently buzzworthy actors in his projects. He famously looks to Hollywood’s forgotten scraps and leftovers when casting his films. Tatum is anything but. This wouldn’t be the director’s first exception to the rule, considering he had Brad Pitt star in Inglorious Basterds and Leo DiCaprio in Django Unchained, but I still find it notable because Tatum hardly seems like the kind of star Tarantino typically gravitates towards. He’s young. He’s currently a hot commodity. He’s extremely mainstream. He’d likely stick out in a cast that’s much more along the lines Tarantino typically goes for: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, Kurt Russell, Tim Roth, and- of course- Samuel L. Jackson.

The Hateful Eight, a period Western, will start filming in January, so Tatum will need to make a decision pretty soon. No word yet on which role he’s up for in the ensemble post-Civil War epic.

SOURCE: Deadline