A new feature film iteration of the musical Guys and Dolls may finally be getting off the ground.  Studios have been trying for years to secure the film rights to a new version of the classic Frank Loesser musical, but the songwriter’s widow never quite found a deal she liked.  That just changed, as 20th Century Fox has now closed a deal to nab the rights and start development on a new Guys and Dolls imminently.  For those unfamiliar, the story takes place in the 1940s and centers on a group of New York City petty criminals and professional gamblers.

Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra toplined MGM’s 1955 feature film adaptation, but Fox is thinking a bit younger for this new version as the studio has its eye on Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt to star.  Hit the jump for more. 

While no director or writer is yet attached to Fox’s new Guys and Dolls film, Deadline reports that there is mutual interest between Fox and the pairing of Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  The two recently flaunted their stage skills at the Oscar ceremony as they took part in a musical number with Seth MacFarlane, and both are well versed in the performing arts.  Gordon-Levitt dabbles quite heavily in the music scene, and Tatum’s dance moves have been very, very well documented (see: Magic Mike).

The pairing of Tatum and Gordon-Levitt actually seems like an inspired bit of casting.  Both actors have more than proven their talents onscreen, and one imagines they could tackle the musical aspects of the film extremely well.  No deals have been made and it’s still early days on the project, but this is definitely one to keep an eye on.