Once Rupert Wyatt vacated the director’s chair a couple of months back, it left 20th Century Fox scrambling to find a suitable replacement for its long-gestating X-Men offshoot Gambit, and today The Hollywood Reporter has revealed who will be taking the reins.
While the studio’s shortlist reportedly included Iron Man 3‘s Shane Black and Joe Cornish, it is Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman who has entered final negotiations.
Though his place at the helm is yet to be formally confirmed, Liman has struck up a financially-sound working relationship with Fox in recent times, with Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Jumper earning sizeable chunks at the box office. Moreover, the filmmaker clearly has the support of Channing Tatum – still attached to topline the feature as the card-throwing mutant, despite production setbacks – who reportedly courted Liman for the gig a mere few weeks ago.
Indeed, had things panned out differently with The Wolverine, Gambit wouldn’t have been the first X-Men character that Liman brought to the big screen. Once Darren Aronofsky dropped out of the acclaimed standalone, he found his name on the shortlist to direct, though it was ultimately James Mangold who got the nod circa 2013.
As for Fox’s live-action rendition of one Remy LeBeau, it’s understood that both Simon Kinberg and Lauren Shuler Donner are still involved in a producing capacity, working from a screenplay pitched by Josh Zetumer. He’s tailoring Chris Claremont’s treatment, who is no stranger to the comic book medium, and everyone involved – Tatum included – have alluded to Gambit presenting a different spin on the superhero template.
It’s currently on course for a release on October 7, 2016, which doesn’t necessarily lend Doug Liman much time. As such, don’t be too surprised if Fox bumps the X-Men offshoot into 2017 to accommodate post-production and VFX work.
