Fox’s X-Men franchise has certainly seen better days. After Logan, Hugh Jackman will be hanging up the claws and the last film in the main series, X-Men: Apocalypse, failed to impress. While it’s true that the studio does have some exciting spinoffs in the works like Deadpool 2 and New Mutants, there’s still a lot to be worried about. For one, we really don’t know what comes next after Apocalypse, though if recent reports are to be believed, it might just be X-Men: Supernova. Then, of course, there’s also the frustrating situation surrounding Gambit.
Stuck in development hell for what seems like forever now, the spinoff just can’t catch a break. Channing Tatum has been trying to get it made for years and numerous directors have come and gone. It was actually originally set to release in 2016, but for now at least, it seems to be permanently on the shelf. We haven’t had any updates on it in quite some time but this week, we do have a promising bit of news to report on.
X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner confirmed at the Television Critics Association 2017 press tour that Tatum remains on board, despite rumors popping up last year that pointed to the actor giving up on the project. While that’s good to hear, there’s still no director attached and until they find someone to helm, Gambit won’t get moving any time soon. We’re trying not to be skeptical, but even with Tatum still committed, it looks like this one may just be destined to languish away in development hell forever.
Hopefully that’s not the case though, as Gambit is quite popular as far as the X-Men go and fans have been waiting for this spinoff to happen for quite some time. Not only that, but Tatum would be a fantastic addition to a franchise that is not only losing its biggest star, but also needs a bit of a shot in the arm right now. Frankly, we really don’t understand what’s taking so long to put this spinoff together, but obviously something just isn’t clicking over at 20th Century Fox.
Time will ultimately tell if this one ever gets made, but for now, let us know your thoughts on the situation below. Are you still hopeful that Gambit will come to fruition, or have you given up on it already?