When X-Men: Days of Future Past was released, 20th Century Fox announced Gambit, a new X-Men Shared Universe movie starring Channing Tatum. After various delays, it became clear that the movie’s October 7, 2016 release date wasn’t going to happen, although director Doug Liman remained as director and was working on some tweaks to the already-completed script.
There were rumors that supervillain Mister Sinister would make his debut in Gambit. He was expected to hire Gambit to steal something for him, basically making this a heist movie with some origin story elements mixed in.
However, delays continued to pile up, and director Doug Liman opted out in August 2016, which only served to further the delays. Although there are rumors that the film will be ready in 2018, there’s been no official confirmation.
Liman told IGN that he dropped out because he didn't feel a connection with the character (which seems weird, since he wouldn't have signed on in the first place if that were the case). However, he added that Gambit will be made once the producers settle on the movie’s tone:
You know, it's a crowded field of superhero films, so the challenge for Gambit or any of those other movies is finding its unique space and its unique take. But, yeah, I think Simon Kinberg, who is producing it, is a great producer, and he'll create something great out of it (via Screen Rant).
That makes sense, but when Gambit was announced in 2014, we hadn’t been treated to a heist/superhero movie. Without all of the delays, that would have created a niche for Gambit within the comic book movie genre. However, 2015's Ant-Man quickly jumped in to fill it.
Rumors about new directors for this project are flying. Frank Darabont (The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption) is one name that’s been thrown out, but Channing Tatum remains the biggest (and the only) name connected with Gambit.
We wonder how long he’ll wait"¦
