Gambit (unproduced film)
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''Gambit'' is an unproduced American superhero film based on the
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
character of the same name. It was intended to be an installment of the ''X-Men'' film series. Before its cancellation, the film had been written by Josh Zetumer based on a story by the character's creator
Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is a British-born American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Claremont, Chris. ''Marvel ...
.
Channing Tatum Channing Matthew Tatum (born April 26, 1980) is an American actor. Tatum made his film debut in the drama ''Coach Carter'' (2005), and had his breakthrough role in the 2006 dance film ''Step Up (film), Step Up''. He gained wider attention for ...
was set to star in the title role. Tatum was looked at for early attempts to include Gambit in the ''X-Men'' films but was not available for that character's film introduction in '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'' (2009). Taylor Kitsch portrayed the character instead, but was not well received. Producer
Lauren Shuler Donner Lauren Diane Shuler Donner (born June 23, 1949) is an American film producer, who specializes in mainstream youth and family-oriented entertainment. She owned The Donners' Company with her late husband, director Richard Donner. Her films have g ...
expressed interest in a Gambit film starring Tatum in early 2014, and the actor officially signed on that May. The film had been in
development hell Development hell, development purgatory, and development limbo are media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in development for an especially long time, often moving between different crews, scripts, game engi ...
since then, with
Rupert Wyatt Rupert Wyatt (born 26 October 1972) is an English screenwriter, director and producer. He made his directorial debut with the 2008 film ''The Escapist (2008 film), The Escapist'', which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. His second film wa ...
, Doug Liman, and Gore Verbinski attached as director to the film at different times over the years, with Tatum and his producing partner
Reid Carolin Reid Carolin is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. Biography He wrote and produced the 2012 film ''Magic Mike'', directed by Steven Soderbergh, and won a 2012 Peabody Award for writing and producing the documentary '' Earth ...
also lobbying to direct, and the film's release date also pushed back numerous times. ''Gambit'' was scheduled for release on March 13, 2020, but development of the film was placed on hold due to the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney. After taking over the film, Disney officially cancelled it in May 2019.


Early development

For the 2003 film '' X2'', director Bryan Singer asked stunt double James Bamford to film a short cameo as the character Gambit. The scene was ultimately cut from the film, and Bamford believed that a better known actor would be cast in the role for any future appearance. Singer wanted the character to have a large part in the sequel, '' X-Men: The Last Stand'' (2006), with
Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in '' Youngblood'' (1986). ...
in the role, but ultimately did not return to direct that film. A new writing team of
Simon Kinberg Simon David Kinberg (born August 2, 1973) is a British-born American filmmaker. He is best known for his work on the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film franchise, and has also written such films as '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' and ''Sherlock Holmes''. He ...
and
Zak Penn Zak Penn (born March 23, 1968) is an American screenwriter. Penn wrote and directed ''Incident at Loch Ness'' and ''The Grand (film), The Grand'', wrote the script for The Incredible Hulk (film), ''The Incredible Hulk'', co-wrote the scripts for ...
were set to write the sequel's screenplay by
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
after Singer's departure, and though the pair wanted to include the character, they felt there was only room for a cameo appearance given the number of new characters more relevant to the film's storylines. They decided to save Gambit for a larger role in a future film. Before that decision was made, Josh Holloway had been looked at for the part but was unavailable due to the filming schedule of his series ''
Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
''.
Channing Tatum Channing Matthew Tatum (born April 26, 1980) is an American actor. Tatum made his film debut in the drama ''Coach Carter'' (2005), and had his breakthrough role in the 2006 dance film ''Step Up (film), Step Up''. He gained wider attention for ...
was then chosen for the role, but the character was written out of the script before he was officially cast. By October 2007, Gambit was believed to be appearing in the spin-off film '' X-Men Origins: Wolverine'', set for release in 2009. Tatum was unable to re-commit to the part at that time because of scheduling conflicts with '' G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra'' (2009), and Taylor Kitsch was ultimately cast in the role. Kitsch signed a three-picture deal. Fox executive Jeff Katz was confident that the character would be well received, saying, "there is a level of strategy in how we grow these things, and what characters can transition between multiple films", indicating that the character could move on to his own standalone film as was the plan with
Ryan Reynolds Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian-American actor. He is one of the highest-grossing film actors of all time, with a worldwide box-office gross of over  billion. He began his career starring in the Canadian teen ...
'
Deadpool Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadp ...
. However, ''Wolverine'' was not well received by critics, and Kitsch's performance did not make him the breakout hit that Fox executives had expected. In September 2013, Tatum expressed interest in taking over the role from Kitsch, saying, "Gambit's my favorite. I’m from
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
, around that area. My dad's from New Orleans, and I like to do a Cajun accent. I could do it for real. No knock on Taylor Kitsch, though, ’cause I actually like his Gambit, but I’ve always lived around Cajun people ... Gambit was always like the woman-loving, cigarette-smoking, drinking uy He was the punk rock of all the superheroes." ''X-Men'' franchise producer
Lauren Shuler Donner Lauren Diane Shuler Donner (born June 23, 1949) is an American film producer, who specializes in mainstream youth and family-oriented entertainment. She owned The Donners' Company with her late husband, director Richard Donner. Her films have g ...
revealed in January 2014 that she had begun planning a Gambit film with Tatum. She said it "doesn't have to be a great big movie. It's a thief in New Orleans, it's a whole different story.
atum Atum (, Egyptian: ''jtm(w)'' or ''tm(w)'', ''reconstructed'' ; Coptic ''Atoum''), sometimes rendered as Atem or Tem, is an important deity in Egyptian mythology. Name Atum's name is thought to be derived from the verb ''tm'' which means 'to com ...
s on board, and I have to get the studio on board." That May, Tatum officially signed on to star in a Gambit film that was intended to begin a new standalone franchise; he would introduce his version of the character in '' X-Men: Apocalypse'' (2016). By October, the producers were discussing the film's story and looking for a writer, with Josh Zetumer hired in the role at the end of the month, working off a story treatment by Gambit's comic creator
Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is a British-born American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Claremont, Chris. ''Marvel ...
. Alongside Donner and Kinberg, Tatum was set to produce the film with
Reid Carolin Reid Carolin is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. Biography He wrote and produced the 2012 film ''Magic Mike'', directed by Steven Soderbergh, and won a 2012 Peabody Award for writing and producing the documentary '' Earth ...
of their company Free Association. In January 2015, Fox gave the film an October 7, 2016, release date. Over several months, Tatum approached
Bennett Miller Bennett Miller (born December 30, 1966) is an American film director, known for directing the acclaimed films '' Capote'' (2005), '' Moneyball'' (2011), and ''Foxcatcher'' (2014). He has been nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Directo ...
, Darren Aronofsky, Gareth Evans, and
J.C. Chandor Jeffrey McDonald Chandor (born November 24, 1973), better known as J. C. Chandor (), is an American filmmaker, best known for writing and directing the films ''Margin Call'' (2011), '' All Is Lost'' (2013), '' A Most Violent Year'' (2014), ''Trip ...
to direct the film, but they all turned him down. In May, Zetumer completed his first draft of the script, which Tatum described as a "killer" origin story that changed "some of the tropes of these movies".


Rupert Wyatt

In June 2015,
Rupert Wyatt Rupert Wyatt (born 26 October 1972) is an English screenwriter, director and producer. He made his directorial debut with the 2008 film ''The Escapist (2008 film), The Escapist'', which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. His second film wa ...
signed on to direct the film, with Tatum saying, "We finally found someone that I really do believe wants to make ''Gambit''". Tatum added that the film was "a really unique opportunity" among superhero films, and was no longer set to appear in ''Apocalypse''. He had begun learning to throw cards and sleight-of-hand tricks for the part from magician David Kwong, a friend of Carolin's from College. Filming was set to begin in New Orleans in late October or early November of that year. By the end of July, the film was believed to focus on "mobsters and thieves ather than'end-of-the-world' stakes", but Fox also wanted to "load up on spectacle and make this character as popular as possible" with a large $154 million budget to be mostly spent in
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
. Several actresses were being tested for the female lead, including Léa Seydoux. Tatum was renegotiating his contract with Fox at the end of July 2015, and was believed to be close to dropping out of the project due to Fox's intention to have Tatum become one of the "anchor characters" of the franchise following the impending retirement of Hugh Jackman as the series' former lead character
Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...
. This would be a major commitment for Tatum to make. Backend compensation was also an issue. Within days, the issues had been resolved and Tatum was once again set to star and produce; it was said that his "participation hardly was in any real danger" due to the commitments Tatum had already made to the project. Rebecca Ferguson and
Abbey Lee Abbey Lee Kershaw (born 12 June 1987) known professionally as Abbey Lee, is an Australian model, actress and musician. Following several years of success leading up to the 2011 fashion seasons, '' V'' magazine dubbed her a supermodel, and Mode ...
were also testing for the "hotly contested" female lead of Belladonna Boudreaux, but Ferguson soon chose a role in '' The Girl on the Train'' (2016) instead. Seydoux was cast in the role by the end of August. In September, Wyatt left the film after changes to its schedule caused a clash with another project he was committed to. Wyatt was also believed to have become "skittish" about directing the film due to wanting to rewrite the script and "conceive the world that he is filming", leading to differences in opinion on the script with Fox, Tatum, and Kinberg. Wyatt later stated in March 2019, that he left the film because the studio "slashed he budgetquite considerably" following the financial failure of ''
Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
'' (2015), but was not willing to let the script be re-written to match the new budget before the beginning of production which then was around 10 weeks away.


Doug Liman

Fox began "furiously" meeting with potential replacements for Wyatt in hopes of keeping the film's release date, including directors Doug Liman,
Joe Cornish Joseph Murray Cornish (born 20 December 1968) is an English comedian and filmmaker. With his long-time comedy partner, Adam Buxton, he forms the comedy duo Adam and Joe. In 2011, Cornish released his directorial debut ''Attack the Block''. He ...
,
Shane Black Shane Black (born December 16, 1961) is an American filmmaker and actor who has written such films as ''Lethal Weapon'', ''The Monster Squad'', ''The Last Boy Scout'', ''Last Action Hero'', and ''The Long Kiss Goodnight''. As an actor, Black is ...
, and
F. Gary Gray Felix Gary Gray (born July 17, 1969) is an Americans, American film director, film producer, and music video director. Gray began his career as a director on numerous critically acclaimed and award-winning music videos, including "It Was a Good ...
. Liman was in final talks to take on the film in November 2015. He had already begun working on the screenplay with Tatum, Carolin, Zetumer, and Kinberg. The latter noted that the ''X-Men'' franchise was beginning to branch out into different tones with the irreverent, R-rated ''
Deadpool Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadp ...
'' (2016), and that "''Gambit'' will have its own different flavor and tone to it, will be more like a
heist movie The heist film or caper film is a subgenre of crime film focused on the planning, execution, and aftermath of a significant robbery. One of the early defining heist films was ''The Asphalt Jungle'' (1950), which ''Film Genre 2000'' wrote "almos ...
and a sexy
thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...
in a way." In January, filming was set for March 2016. Fox officially removed ''Gambit'' from its October release date in February 2016. Liman soon chose to direct the film '' The Wall'' (2017) while waiting for a new draft of the ''Gambit'' script, intending to then begin production on ''Gambit'' at the end of 2016. Tatum and Carolin were looking for a new writer to undertake the rewrite and pursue a different creative direction for the film, while Liman was expected to discard Wyatt's casting of Seydoux and begin casting from scratch himself. Kinberg explained in May that the group had collectively been unhappy with the film's script, but were now "very close" to completing it. He added that "the most important thing is getting the tone and the voice right ...
e are E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plura ...
hoping that ''Gambit'' is like what ''Deadpool'' was—the start of a new franchise within the ''X-Men'' universe—we want to make sure we get it right." In July, Kinberg praised the script for ''Gambit'' and said that they were now aiming to begin filming at the beginning of 2017. However, Liman left the project the next month in a "mutual split" with Fox, choosing to instead direct the
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
-based film ''
Dark Universe Dark universe may refer to: Science * Portion of the universe not directly observable, including dark energy and dark matter * Dark Universe Observatory (DUO), a planned NASA space telescope * Dark Universe Explorer (DUNE), an ESA space telescope ...
''. Liman later explained that he is "all about the script, and I just wasn't feeling it. I've gotta connect to the script."


Gore Verbinski

In November 2016, ''Gambit'' was expected to begin development again with a new director after Tatum completed work on the film ''
Logan Lucky ''Logan Lucky'' is a 2017 American heist comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh, based on a screenplay credited to Rebecca Blunt. Soderbergh came out of retirement to direct the film and distributed it independently through his own company, ...
'' (2017). The next January, Donner confirmed that Tatum was still attached to the project, and a month later Kinberg described the film as being in "active development". He stated his hope for the project to be ready by the end of 2017, for filming to then begin at the start of 2018. He noted that there were already three ''X-Men'' franchise films set for release in 2018 at that point, so ''Gambit'' "can wait for a moment." Kinberg compared Tatum's commitment to the role of Gambit to the determination shown by Reynolds and Jackman to get their most recent ''X-Men'' films (''Deadpool'' and ''
Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gover ...
'' (2017), respectively) made "right", and reiterated Fox's intention to build a new ''Gambit'' film franchise. At the end of May 2017, ''X-Men'' producer Hutch Parker was unable to provide an update on the film, but said "there's still a desire and a passionate interest to see 'Gambit''made." Tatum reiterated that he was still actively working on the film in July, and discussed the long development period for the film and the many delays to the production, saying,
I think we got super, super lucky. I think a lot of setbacks, we'll look at them in hindsight as giant blessings. Because we were making it, ndwe're writing a movie right at the turn of a paradigm shift in movies. So we got lucky that we didn't just come out with ours, which I don't think was fully formed. It was a good idea. We were going in the right direction. And then we got to learn from two really beautifully different kinds of a complete paradigm shift n''Logan'' and ''Deadpool''.
Tatum added the next month that work on the ''Gambit'' script had "started over", and that "we’re really getting to do some of the things we’ve always wanted to do with the script" which he described as "something that this genre of movie hasn't seen before." In October, Gore Verbinski was in talks to direct the film, which was described as a "high priority" for Fox. A week later, the film was given a February 14, 2019, release date, and Verbinski was confirmed to direct. By the end of the month, casting for the film was "well underway", and
Jenny Beavan Jenny Beavan, OBE (born 1950) is an English costume designer. She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design eleven times, winning three awards for the movies ''A Room With A View'' (1985) (for which she shared an award w ...
was hired as costume designer. The next month,
Lizzy Caplan Elizabeth Anne Caplan (born June 30, 1982) is an American actress. Her first acting role was on the television series ''Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000). She received wider recognition with roles in the films ''Mean Girls'' (2004) and ''Cloverfi ...
was in talks to join the film as its female lead, and location scouting for the film was taking place in
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
. At some point, Lil Rel Howery was attached to star in the film alongside Tatum. By December, filming was set to begin in New Orleans in March 2018. The next month, Verbinski withdrew from the project due to a scheduling conflict, though creative differences were also reported. Fox subsequently moved the release date to June 7, 2019.


Re-development and cancellation

Despite intending to keep the March filming start following Verbinski's departure, Fox removed the film from its production schedule by the end of January 2018. At that time, the search for Verbinski's replacement was underway, while the new June 2019 release date was expected to play better for the film as a "summer Marvel movie". The film was described as having a comedic tone and revolving around a heist, and had also undergone a rewrite to make it "more New Orleans". Fox expected another new draft of the script in March, and still considered the film to be greenlit with a set budget despite the lack of director; a new production start date of June 19, 2018, was set, dependent on a new director being found in time. The producers met with several directors for the film during April 2018, with Kinberg stating in May that he and Tatum were happy with the current script for the project and hoped to pick a new director in "the next couple of weeks and shoot the movie maybe the end of this summer". He reiterated that the film was still a priority for Fox "believe it or not", and added that the proposed acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney did not affect their plans for the film at that point. In September, Fox was believed to be interested in starting production on February 15, 2019. The studio was still looking to shoot the film in New Orleans, and was looking to use Big Easy Studios for production space after doing the same for ''Logan''. This new start date gave the studio time to hire a new crew for the film after previously hired crew members were let go. By the end of the month, Kinberg confirmed that they were now looking to begin production on ''Gambit'' in early 2019. He described the film as being "loosely" a
romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
due to Fox wanting the tone of each ''X-Men'' spin-off to be driven by the protagonist's personality (such as ''Deadpool''s raunchy comedic tone and ''Logan''s western "vibe") and the character of Gambit being "a hustler and a womanizer and we just felt like there was an attitude, a swagger to him, that lent itself to romantic comedy". At that time, Fox delayed the release of the film again, pushing it to March 13, 2020. By then, Carolin was believed to have been working with Zetumer on the script. In October, Kinberg confirmed that the version of the film they were developing was significantly different from their earlier plans, which is why the tone had changed from a heist film to a romantic comedy. He elaborated that some of the heist elements remained in the film due to Gambit still being a thief, but the focus would be a love story between Gambit and Belladonna. Kinberg compared the new direction to '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' (2005), which he wrote, as well as '' The Philadelphia Story'' (1940) and ''
His Girl Friday ''His Girl Friday'' is a 1940 American screwball comedy directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell and featuring Ralph Bellamy and Gene Lockhart. It was released by Columbia Pictures. The plot centers on a newspaper edito ...
'' (1940). At that time, Daniel Woburn of ''
Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...
'' opined that the film, which he described as being in
development hell Development hell, development purgatory, and development limbo are media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in development for an especially long time, often moving between different crews, scripts, game engi ...
since 2014, was likely to be canceled once Disney's acquisition of Fox was complete since
Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...
would want to integrate the X-Men characters into their
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
(MCU). In January 2019, it was reported that Tatum was interested in directing the film along with starring. Tatum and Carolin would have been co-directors, something the studio was not keen on given both had never directed before. The next month, Donner revealed that ''Gambit'', along with the rest of Fox's Marvel films, was "on hold" until Disney's acquisition of Fox was complete. A week after the acquisition was complete, Kinberg said the film was being evaluated by Marvel. In May 2019, ''Gambit'' was officially cancelled by Disney and removed from its release schedule. In May 2020, Kinberg revealed the character Mister Sinister would have featured in the film, after the Essex Corporation was teased in ''Apocalypse''; Mister Sinister had previously been rumored at one point to feature in ''
The New Mutants ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'' (2020). In February 2022, Carolin described the film as "a romantic comedy superhero movie" with a R rating and similar tone to ''Deadpool''. He also revealed that the film had been cast, and was setting up production offices in anticipation of beginning shooting in New Orleans when Disney shelved the project. Both Tatum and Carolin were open to returning to the project and character.


References

{{Marvel Comics films Cancelled films X-Men (film series) 20th Century Fox films 2010s unfinished films