Too often we hear of film projects falling apart when a director/star walks away or, in the more common scenario, a studio pulls the plug altogether. From Fantastic Four 2 to Sony’s fabled Sinister Six crossover, you don’t have to search too far to locate a big-name project that failed to get off the ground. Thankfully, Gambit isn’t one of them.
Yes, the X-Men spinoff has encountered one setback after another since it was first announced, but despite all those frustrating false starts, Channing Tatum remains attached to headline as the ice-cool Remy LeBeau. That’s the real name of the titular hero, a card-playing Cajun who hails from New Orleans. Originally portrayed by Taylor Kitsch in the widely derided X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the torch has since been passed over to Tatum, whose long-time affinity for the character stretches all the way back to childhood.
To date, Fox has had a tough time with the project, finding it difficult to lock down a director as many have come and gone. Just last week, however, they finally snagged Gore Verbinski and now, in another big step forward, the studio has dated Gambit for release on February 14th, 2019, ensuring that you and your loved one have the perfect way to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
Of course, that’s still a ways away, but the wider X-Men universe couldn’t be healthier at the moment and there’s much to look forward to while we wait for Remy LeBeau to debut. As things stand, Fox has mapped out plans for three high-profile tentpoles in 2018 – namely New Mutants, Deadpool 2 and X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Not to mention that they’ve also staked out several other release dates for unannounced projects.
With Gambit now pencilled in for a release in February of 2019 though, we imagine that the character may even cameo in Dark Phoenix, to help introduce him to audiences before his solo outing rolls around the year after. Chalk that up as speculation, but it would seem that finally – finally! – things are coming together for Tatum’s passion project and we can only hope that it’s all smooth sailing from here on out.
As always, watch this space for more.