While Channing Tatum (‘Jupiter Ascending,’ ‘G.I.Joe: Retaliation‘) is extremely excited about his upcoming solo ‘Gambit‘ film, it seems like every director he has reached out to has no interest in the project. Previously it was reported that Bennett Miller (‘Moneyball,’ ‘Foxcatcher’) and Darren Aronofsky (‘The Fountain,’ ‘Black Swan’) were contacted about the gig though both have passed on the position. Another report has Gareth Evans (‘The Raid: Redemption,’ ‘The Raid 2’) and J.C. Chandor (‘Margin Call,’ ‘A Most Violent Year’) also having turned down the spot.With a script by Josh Zetumer (‘RoboCop‘) already having been turned in, the film might be at risk if they can’t find someone to sit in the director’s chair as ‘Gambit’ needs to begin production this Fall in order to fulfill its release date.
Of course with the directors mentioned above, I’m not sure if either of them would have been the preferred choice to tell the story of the Ragin’ Cajun. As this is Remy Etienne LeBeau first stand alone tale, the film almost has to focus on his life as a thief, hustler, and lover and I’m not sure if any of them can capture an edgy heist styled story that almost has to be told in order to incorporate everything that makes up this character. They all could deliver a solidly unique story but only Evans has the chops to take on the action I would like to see. Although I’m not sure how he would handle the rest. I hate to say it, but I actually think that Steven Soderbergh would be perfect for tackling the film. While ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ might not be the perfect heist film, it has a lot of the tone I’d like to see here.
Producers Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg have big plans for how the character will tie into the cinematic universe of the X-Men but need this movie to happen in order to get there. Of course, that does mean that they need a director who can play ball with the studio. Aside from Bryan Singer (who is soon to leave the mutant franchise for good) the studio has had a rocky track record with other directors. Even without the end product being horrible, Gavin Hood had a slew of issues working on ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine‘ while Matthew Vaughn was rushed throughout the entire process of ‘X-Men: First Class.’ I won’t even get into the slew of rumored issues that Josh Trank seems to be having with ‘Fantastic Four’ or if they are related to him leaving his stand-alone ‘Star Wars’ film.
‘Gambit’ is set to be released on October 7th, 2016
Source: Screen Rant
