Originally set to be released in October 2016 – yes, we’re telling the truth –Â Gambit has been stuck in development hell for quite some time now. While the movie wasn’t on the wishlist of many X-Men fans, a treatment written by comic book scribe Chris Claremont and a lead star in the form of Channing Tatum pointed to big things for the spinoff.
Since then, however, the project has lost a couple of directors, not to mention a few release dates and it now appears as if we can forget about Gambit ever happening. Right? Well, maybe not. X-Men producer Hutch Parker made it clear in a recent interview that there’s still very much an interest at Fox in making this long-delayed movie a reality – though he’s unable to offer any firm updates on it.
“It is happening. It is. I don’t have any news on that but there’s still a desire and a passionate interest to see that movie made.”
That’s obviously not a negative remark, but it’s also not one which is particularly positive, either. As of right now, it doesn’t look like Fox has a release date in mind for Gambit and Parker’s update doesn’t even point to the studio seriously considering any new writers or directors. None of this means that the movie isn’t happening, of course, but the signs are pointing to Gambit being on the shelf – for the time being, at least.
That’s far from the end of the world, but given the success that the likes of Deadpool and Logan found with an R-rating, it would have been fun to see what form Gambit would take. Perhaps Fox can place the Cajun in a movie like X-Force before spinning him out into a solo adventure, to see how he’d do with audiences first? It’s not a bad idea, but we’ll just have to wait and see which direction the studio ends up taking with the mutant.
