X-Men Spinoff Gambit Will Still Happen But Is "Starting Over," Says Channing Tatum

There are no fewer than three X-Men movies currently in production--Deadpool 2, New Mutants, and X-Men: Dark Phoenix--while the TV show The Gifted is about to hit screens. However, one X-Men spinoff that hasn't had as much luck is Gambit. The much-delayed movie is set to star Channing Tatum and has been delayed multiple times over the past few years. Tatum has now spoken about the project and some of the problems with getting it made.

In an interview with HeyUGuys, Tatum explained that while the unusual nature of the project meant that it has met various obstacles, the success of R-rated X-Men movies Deadpool and Logan has ultimately helped its progress.

"I think we got lucky," he said. "We got hit with some setbacks, and it was all for a good reason. 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."

Gambit was originally scheduled for release in October 2016, with Rise of the Planet of the Apes' Rupert Wyatt as director. He left the film in September 2015, citing citing scheduling conflicts. However, a story in Deadline at the time suggested that there had been ongoing disagreements over both the script and budget.

Bourne Identity director Doug Liman subsequently joined the movie, with production rescheduled for spring 2016. That also failed to commence, with the start date moved to end of the 2016 to allow time for further rewrites, and then to spring 2017, neither of which happened. Liman quit in August last year, and the film is currently without a director or release date. However, in June, producer Hutch Parker stated that there was "still a desire and a passionate interest" to see the movie made.

The card-throwing Gambit first appeared in a 1990 issue of The Uncanny X-Men. He appeared briefly in 2009's critically panned X-Men Origins: Wolverine, portrayed by Taylor Kitsch.