The bad news just keeps on piling in for X-Men fans today. After learning that Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants may be scrapped, we’re now hearing that Gambit has been given the axe and “definitely isn’t happening at this stage.”
This is somewhat surprising, as producer Simon Kinberg recently assured us it was going forward and production was set to begin on June 19th in Remy LeBeau’s hometown of New Orleans. Then again, given that the pic, which has been in pre-production limbo for what feels like forever now, has yet to secure a director, despite having gone through at least three heavyweight helmers – Rupert Wyatt, Doug Liman and Gore Verbinski – it was never going to make that start date.
Pitched as a supercharged heist movie – think Ocean’s Eleven…with mutants – Channing Tatum was set to take point in the film as the devilish Remy LeBeau, with Lizzy Caplan (Masters of Sex), who recently clinched the female lead, joining him. Now, however, it looks like things aren’t going forward anymore, and though we advise taking this latest report with a grain of salt since it doesn’t come directly from the studio, it really wouldn’t surprise us if Fox has decided to cut its losses and give up on Gambit.
After all, the solo movie based on the beloved bō staff wielding mutant has been in development hell since 2014. Having seen the titular role bounce back and forth between Keanu Reeves, Josh Holloway and Taylor Kitsch before Channing Tatum took up the mantle, it’s struggled to get off the ground for years and every time you think Gambit‘s about to fire up production, it gets hit with another setback.
Now, with the Disney/Fox merger about to go through, it’s easy to see why this project might just not be a priority anymore. Especially with the mutants set to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe shortly, where most of them will probably be rebooted.
Chalk that up as speculation for now, as we don’t know what Kevin Feige plans to do with the characters once he gets his hands on them, but at this point, it doesn’t look like Gambit will materialize anytime soon, and maybe not ever.