At this rate, 20th Century Fox may just take over 2016 with its impressive movie slate!
While Bryan Singer is working hard on filming “X-Men: Apocalypse” for Fox, the studio, on the other hand, has been searching for a helmer for its upcoming “X-Men” spin-off film, “Gambit“. And now, it seemed like the search is over because EW exclusively revealed that director Rupert Wyatt will helm Fox’s “Gambit”, with “Magic Mike XXL” star Channing Tatum starring in the titular mutant role.
Gambit is a fictional character created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee for Marvel Comics. The mutant was abandoned at birth due to his burning red eyes. He grew up as a pickpocket on the streets after being kidnapped from the hospital ward by members of the New Orleans Thieves’ Guild. When he was 10-year-old, he was adopted by Jean-Luc LeBeau, the then-patriarch of the Thieves’ Guild, after a failed attempt to steal from him.
He was described as an incredibly knowledgeable mutant with the ability to mentally create, control, and manipulate pure kinetic energy to his every whim and desire. He often uses a bō for hand-to-hand combat and throw cards to track down his enemies. Having appeared in a number of TV and video games, the character was brought to life by Taylor Kitsch in 2009’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”.
The success of bringing the character to the big screen prompted Fox to develop a solo film based on Gambit.
Wyatt, who was the director of Fox’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”, will direct the movie based on a script written by Josh Zetumer. Tatum will not only star in the film, but also produce it alongside Lauren Shuler Donner, Simon Kinberg, and Reid Carolin.
No further information regarding the movie was released, but Tatum confirmed in a recent interview with Empire Magazine that it will tell the origin story of the Cajun mutant.
The Gambit-origin film is currently slated for cinematic release on 7th October 2016.
(Source: EW)
