There was some concern back in late July that Channing Tatum might be dropping out of starring as X-Men character Gambit in the new film named after the card-chucking man himself. But while that turned out to be mere rumour, the movie has hit another, actual road block: director Rupert Wyatt has decided to move on{
According to a statement from the director’s PR folk, the reason is purely time-related: "I was very much looking forward to working with my friend Channing and the team at Fox, but regrettably a push in the start date now conflicts with another project. I thank them for the opportunity, and I know that Gambit will make a terrific film." The chatter is, however that it runs a little deeper, with talk of script and budget issues that necessitated more time before the shoot kicks off. And that attempting to align the production so that footage of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras can be captured has also affected the dates.
Whatever the reason, the film is now looking for a new director to bring Josh Zetumer’s script to life. Spectre’s Léa Seydoux was more recently offered the part of Belladonna Bourdreaux, a sparring partner for Tatum’s Remy LeBeau, so we don’t know whether the schedule shift will alter her ability to work on the film.
Still, given how important this is to Fox – which is hoping to launch a character who can handle his own film series now that Hugh Jackman is hanging up Wolverine’s claws – things will be back on track before too long.