Although Gambit was announced ages ago, the movie never went into production. It was delayed on several occasions, and then was indefinitely postponed. Thanks to star Channing Tatum, we finally know why! It wasn't because the directors didn't want to do it, nor was it because Tatum’s schedule was too busy. The delay was entirely due to the film’s tone.
Throughout 2017, Channing Tatum has been adamant that Gambit will eventually be made. The last time we heard anything about it was at San Diego Comic Con, where the actor simply said that the movie is still happening.
During an even more recent interview with Hey U Guys, Channing Tatum revealed that the film’s script had been rewritten from scratch. The actor added that the delays were a blessing, since they gave Deadpool and Logan a chance to prove that different directions within the genre can work with both audience and critics.
We were trying to do something completely different. We were trying to do something that this genre of movies 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.
Of course, we can assume that Tatum was actually referring to an R-rated Gambit flick. But that may not be the case, since the success of Logan and Deadpool didn't result from the ratings. We can be certain that 20th Century Fox feels more confident about the project, which features a relatively unknown Marvel character.
It remains to be seen when the movie will actually start shooting.