Channing Tatum has played an unexpected role in one of the most anticipated films at the Sundance Film Festival recently. Tatum has a cameo role in director Hailey Gates's film Atropia. The film, starring Callum Turner and Alia Shawkat, recounts the bizarre true story of fabricated villages constructed on American military bases, in which stunt performers and actors assisted troops in getting ready for the Iraq War.

Turner and Shawkat portray performers enlisted to work on a military based turned film set. They are elated to learn that a renowned American actor (Tatum) will take part in a chemical weapon attack simulation as he prepares for a role. Tatum plays a self-absorbed A-lister, seeking street credibility and authenticity among actual soldiers in this fabricated scenario. Shawkat revealed that she asked her friend Tatum to do the film and the actor gracefully obliged. Gates' Challengers director Luca Guadagnino is one of the producers of the film.