Hollywood is taking another lap around one of modern sports’ most infamous rise-and-crash arcs: Austin Butler (“Elvis”) is attached to portray Lance Armstrong in a feature package that has Edward Berger—the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind “All Quiet on the Western Front” and “Conclave”—on board to direct.
Per Deadline, the project is being put together as a studio-facing package, with former Netflix chief Scott Stuber, now a solo producer, closing a deal for the subject’s life rights and Zach Baylin (“King Richard”) set to write the screenplay.
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The material, naturally, comes with built-in speed. Armstrong’s story still sits at the intersection of American hero mythology as a cautionary tale: how our celebrity-era media build up sports legends, but the cold machinery of elite competition often pressures them to cut corners in order to sustain the everlasting high of success. After years of allegations and investigations, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced sanctions that included a lifetime ban and the disqualification of competitive results tied to the case, a fallout later mirrored by cycling’s governing body, which stripped him of his Tour de France-winning titles.
For Butler, it’s likely another high-wire real-person assignment, especially as it’s been done before, albeit at a lower temperature. For Berger, the appeal is evident in a different register. The filmmaker’s recent work has leaned into institutional pressure-cookers and moral compromise, and an Armstrong film practically arrives preloaded with systems to interrogate—sport, sponsorship, media, medicine, and the industry of belief that forms around a champion.
Near the end of the road, it’s also worth remembering that this is well-traveled screen territory. Stephen Frears’ “The Program” cast Ben Foster as Armstrong and framed the saga through journalist David Walsh’s pursuit, with the film based on Walsh’s book “Seven Deadly Sins,” but it admittedly failed to light up the culture in the way most sports pundits hope. Alex Gibney’s documentary “The Armstrong Lie” started as a comeback chronicle and, in real time, became a document of collapse once the doping allegations overtook the story. ESPN’s two-part “Lance” (directed by Marina Zenovich) was later expanded to four hours and aired as a 30 for 30 event. And Alex Holmes’ “Stop at Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story” took a hard-hitting investigative approach to the surrounding ecosystem and the people left scorched in its wake. Even pop culture couldn’t resist the subject: HBO’s doping satire “Tour de Pharmacy” went so far as to include Armstrong himself.
All of this puts a little extra pressure on this new film to justify its existence beyond “prestige biopic goes brrrr.” The creative team here suggests the intention is to make something sharper than a greatest-hits scandal reel—especially with Berger directing at a moment when he’s clearly in demand.
And yes, Berger’s pace has been relentless lately: he’s already in production on “The Riders” with Brad Pitt. This A24-financed adaptation began filming in Ireland this month, following its initial announcement last year. That’s less than a year after the release of 2025’s “Ballad Of A Small Player” which already came on the heels of “2024’s “Conclave.” Between this, being offered an “Ocean’s 14” movie which he turned down, and a potential fifth “Jason Bourne” movie with Matt Damon waiting in the development queue somewhere, Berger is absolutely not wasting an ounce of cache he earned when the Oscar-winning “All Quiet on the Western Front” put him on the map.
