The other day HE commenter Manwe Sulimo asked what had happened to Channing Tatum. The 41-year-old actor hasn’t been in a noteworthy live-action film since Logan Lucky, which opened on 8.18.17.

Four years of flatlining is a long time. It would be one thing if Tatum had been out of circulation due to working on some big, classy prestige project. But his recent credits indicate more of an interest in popcorn realms.

Tatum has been delving into directing and producing over the last three or four. On 2.18.22 Dog (UA Releasing), a comedy that Tatum co-directed (along with Reid Carolin), produced and starred in, will open in some capacity.

Two months after that Tatum will be costarring with Sandra Bullock in The Lost City of D, a “cutthroat jungle adventure” from co-directors Aaron and Adam Nee. Tatum and Carolin are also producers on Spaceman, a sci-fi drama with Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan and Paul Dano.

The present-tense bottom line is that Tatum apparently sees himself more as a behind-the-cameras creative than a leading-man actor. Cue career review assessments. For my money Tatum’s two best roles were in Steven Soderbergh‘s Haywire (’11) and Magic Mike (’12).