“Mon ami!†The Gambit movie has just hit a serious setback. Director Rupert Wyatt has stepped down from Gambit, leaving the director’s chair open on the upcoming X-Men spinoff film.
In a statement, Wyatt confirmed his departure and wrote, “I was very much looking forward to working with my friend Channing [Tatum] and the team at Fox, but regrettably a push in the start date now conflicts with another project. I thank them for the opportunity, and I know that Gambit will make a terrific film.”
There are two conflicting accounts of what drove Wyatt from Gambit. In the first rumor, Wyatt and Fox had differences over the film’s budget and script. The second rumor holds that the shooting schedule around Mardi Gras forced Wyatt to step aside. Either way, Gambit needs a new director and it may even get pushed back from its originally scheduled release date on October 7, 2016.
Gambit was created by Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee in 1990, and he quickly became one of the most popular X-Men in the ‘90s. Claremont even wrote the treatment for the Gambit film, which was adapted for the screen by Josh Zetumer.
Tatum personally lobbied to get a Gambit movie made for years before it was finally placed on Fox’s schedule. There were rumors that Tatum might drop out of the project earlier this year, but he ultimately signed a new deal with Fox to star in the film. The studio is reportedly positioning Gambit as a major character in its upcoming slate of X-Men films, in part to help fill the pending void by Hugh Jackman’s departure from the franchise after the third Wolverine movie.
So far, Léa Seydoux is the only other currently announced cast member for the Gambit movie. She will play Bella Donna Boudreaux, Gambit’s first love who was also his wife in the original comics.
Who should step in to direct the Gambit movie? Share your suggestions in the comment section below!
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