X-Men spinoff movie ‘Gambit‘ lost Rupert Wyatt (‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’) as director a month ago leaving the project up in the air. The film’s star, Channing Tatum, has apparently been using his star power to court a new director, specifically Doug Liman. Liman’s resume includes ‘The Bourne Identity’, ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’, and ‘Edge of Tomorrow‘ — all well received action films with big name leads, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise respectively. It’s understandable the Tatum wants to be the next lead of a Liman film.
Deadline reports that “recent Hollywood chatter has Doug Liman on an inside track to direct Channing Tatum in Gambit,” and The Wrap’s Jeff Sneider corroborates that report with this tweet:
True that Channing Tatum has been courting Doug Liman to direct GAMBIT. We’ll see if he goes for it though…
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) October 18, 2015
Liman has two other movies that he is reportedly working on. The first is a heist movie set on the moon called ‘Luna Park’. The second is a period piece about a pilot turned drug runner called ‘Mena’. There has also been talk of an ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ sequel, but the box office results of the first may not merit a return to screen, by no fault of the film itself.