'Gambit' X-Men Spin-Off Delayed for Script Fine-Tuning Purposes
The X-Men franchise looks set to thrive, if it isn't already. Apocalypse opens this month. Deadpool was a wild success at the start of the year, and a sequel is on its way. A New Mutants film is on the horizon. But Gambit has been in limbo for some time now.
The film has Channing Tatum lined up as the mutant hero, and the film was originally set to arrive in theaters October 7 this year. Since being removed from that slot, there's been no news until now. Simon Kinberg, X-Men writer and producer, has given us our first peak behind the walls of the struggling project.
"We’ve got to get the script right," Kinberg said, giving his definitive response to the delay. "We just didn’t get the script to the place where we all thought the movie deserved. So we’re still working on the script. We’re very close, actually, to being done with the script.
"And the hope is that Channing [Tatum] has a couple of movies he has to shoot, but that we would shoot at the end of this year, or the beginning of next year."
He emphasised that this film will be a heist one, with Gambit as a con man. The voice of the character is, of course, important, Kinberg said. There can be some correlation noted between this and Deadpool, which also saw a strenuous path to the big screen, with a solo hero bearing a signature, iconic voice.
Channing Tatum is still attached to star, with Doug Liman in the directing chair. Kinberg eyes production at the end of this year or the start of next, permitting no more delays spring forward.
Fox has two dates secured, for October 6, 2017, and January 12, 2018 for untitled Marvel releases. Whether Gambit scores one of these slots is possible but unknown at this point. The character is more obscure than many other characters, so the time taken to perfecting the vision is necessary, particularly given Gambit isn't a franchise character (yet).
Source: Cinemablend
