Just as things seemed to be looking up for the X-Men solo film ‘Gambit,’ now comes word that the film’s director Gore Verbinski is no longer attached to the project. The departure is said to happen on good terms with the reason being scheduling conflicts from other projects Verbinski has on his plate. With a production start date of March 19, FOX is now put into a position to find another director and soon.
Verbinski is the third director to have come and gone with this film.
If you recall, Rupert Wyatt left in October 2015 due to his reluctance to bow down to the studio’s demands on how the film should be (oh, if someone could have done that when the ‘Fantastic Four’ reboot was in development). According to a source:
“I think he’s a very principled guy. He wants to make the best version of something, and he’s so desperately afraid of making something not good that it’s easier to walk away than be pushed by committee.”
Doug Liman was then tapped to take over but left in August 2016 seemingly also due to the same reasons:
“I’m all about the script, and I just wasn’t feeling it.
Then back in August of 2017, Channing Tatum gave an update on the progress for the film stating a new script was in the works:
“We were trying to do something completely different. We were trying to do something that this genre of movie hasn’t seen before. We kept running into the same problems, and then Deadpool and Logan came through and kicked the doors down. Now we’re really getting to do some of the things we’ve always wanted to do with the script – we’ve just sort of started over.”
Soon after Verbinski was tapped to helm the film and a production date was announced.
Now with this setback, all eyes are looking at Fox to see what their next move is and if the film will continue after the Disney merger. Channing Tatum is still attached to play the lead role of Gambit/Remy LeBeau, as well as Lizzy Caplan as Bella Donna Boudreaux, and James Franco as Multiple Man (but that may change after the latest sexual misconduct allegations that just came out against him). Rumored to be the antagonists are Sinister and a new villain simply known as “Butler” for casting purposes.
Currently, Fox has previously set a date of Feb. 14, 2019 for the film’s release.
