Gambit Filming Rumored to Be Delayed After Loss of Director

CBR

Rumor: Gambit's Production Start Delayed After Loss of Director

By Kevin Melrose

Published Jan 29, 2018

The loss of director Gore Verbinski may result in another delay for Fox's Gambit, the long-promised X-Men spinoff starring Channing Tatum.

The loss of director Gore Verbinski last month may lead to yet another production delay for Fox's Gambit.

Although the X-Men spinoff was previously targeted to begin principal photography in March in New Orleans, Omega Underground contends the film has been pulled from production schedules, presumably until Verbinski's success can be found.

Gambit's release date was moved last month from Feb. 14, 2019, to June 7, 2019, amid a larger reshuffling of Fox's Marvel movie slate that saw The New Mutants pushed back by 10 months, and Deadpool 2 shifted from June 1, 2018, to May 18.

Verbinski, who boarded Gambit in October, was the film's third director, following Rupert Wyatt and Doug Liman, who left in 2016. The film has already experienced repeated production delays, because of both director changes and script issues.

According to recent reports, Channing Tatum remains attached as Remy LeBeau, the devil-may-care mutant with a penchant for theft and the ability to charge objects — typically playing cards — with explosive kinetic energy. The actor was originally cast in the role for 2003’s X2, but the character was ultimately written out of the script. When it was decided to include Gambit in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Tatum was unavailable, and Taylor Kitsch was used in his place.

Omega Underground raises the possibility that principal photography of Gambit could move from New Orleans to Montreal, used for X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants.