The X-Men shared universe has a bright future ahead. Reportedly, the next installment of the core franchise will be titled X-Men: Supernova, and will adapt (again) the Dark Phoenix storyline from the comics. Reports also say that Deadpool 2 will begin shooting this year, and the New Mutants project has, allegedly, gathered quite an impressive cast. So, even though actors such as Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart will say their goodbyes this year in Logan, there are plenty of others to keep the shared universe alive.
With these projects right on the horizon, it’s easy to forget that 2016 was also supposed to bring a third X-Men universe movie. Back in 2013, Channing Tatum announced that he was set to star as Remy LeBeau. After we heard that everything was going according to plan, and the actor was trying to get his Cajun accent right, the Gambit project was postponed. After that, we obviously believed that it was scratched entirely.
Channing Tatum (Wikimedia)
After all, besides Channing Tatum, no other name was mentioned in connection with the movie. Furthermore, by that time, Gambit had already lost two directors (Rupert Wyatt and Doug Liman, with the latter now attached to Justice League Dark), and no alternative was announced.
There were even rumors that Tatum himself dropped out of the project and joined the DCEU as SHAZAM.
However, it was recently revealed that the star is still on board. While promoting Legion, producer Lauren Shuler Donner said that Gambit still has the greenlight - however, she didn't offer any explanation of why the fans haven't heard anything about it:
Channing Tatum is still attached to play Gambit in a standalone #XMen movie, Lauren Shuler Donner told press in the scrum #TCA17
"” Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) January 12, 2017
To be noted, Gambit appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, portrayed by Taylor Kitsch. Besides that, he was one of the main characters in the animated show X-Men: The Animated Series back in the "˜90's - so it can be said that an entire generation is questioning his absence.
Not really (Comic Book)
So, for the time being, Gambit is still going to make it to the big screen - although the studio hasn't found a director for the project and it’s more than likely that Channing Tatum will ultimately drop out if production is stalled any longer.
