The upcoming Lance Armstrong sports biopic starring Austin Butler has taken a major step forward, with production moving rapidly toward a target start date of January 2027.
The project features Oscar-winning director Edward Berger at the helm, directing from a screenplay written by Oscar nominee Zach Baylin.
Scott Stuber and Nick Nesbit are producing alongside Berger. Stuber secured Armstrong’s official life rights following direct negotiations with the former cyclist, ensuring the narrative feature will chronicle both Armstrong’s legendary rise in professional cycling and his high-profile downfall.
The latest project marks the first time Armstrong has officially granted his life rights for a narrative feature film. Hollywood previously explored his doping scandal in Stephen Frears’ 2015 drama The Program. It starred Ben Foster as Armstrong without the cyclist’s involvement.
For this project, producer Scott Stuber made complete honesty a key condition, per World of Reel. The transparency allowed the film to explore the institutional pressure and widespread deception surrounding Armstrong’s career without creative interference.
The update also gives Berger’s next project a clearer timeline following his work on All Quiet on the Western Front, which earned four Academy Awards, including Best International Feature Film.
What else do we know about the Lance Armstrong movie with Austin Butler?
Apple Original Films acquired the project after a lengthy and competitive bidding process. The movie has reportedly been described as combining the sports drama of F1 with the darker rise-and-fall story of The Wolf of Wall Street.
The biopic will follow Armstrong’s battle with testicular cancer, his return to professional cycling, and his record seven Tour de France victories. It will then explore the doping scandal that led the United States Anti-Doping Agency to strip him of his titles.
For Austin Butler, the role follows his Oscar-nominated performance as Elvis Presley in Elvis. He will now take on the physical and mental demands of portraying Armstrong in the upcoming biopic.
