14 DAY TRIAL // Channing Tatum has been linked to the 20th Century Fox comic book-based “X-Men” franchise since the second half of 2014, and he confirmed his involvement - officially so - by recently appearing at San Diego Comic-Con 2015 with the rest of the rebooted “X-Men” cast. However, he was yet to sign a contract with the studio.
The Wrap reports that Tatum is on his way out of the project, citing sources familiar with the production. No reason for the decision is being given.
Channing Tatum, one foot out the door
The report says that the deal with Tatum to star as Gambit in his own standalone movie is “falling apart” and he is “planning to exit the project.” Whatever it was that led Tatum to this decision comes just as the studio was auditioning for co-stars.
They might have to look for a Tatum replacement as well, and soon, insiders say.
“It is unclear whether Tatum and his producing partner Reid Carolin plan to remain involved in a producing capacity, or whether Simon Kinberg and Lauren Shuler Donner will move forward on their own,” The Wrap says.
Making matters even worse is the fact that the film is scheduled for an October 2016 release, which means it’s on a tight schedule and should begin production this fall. If Tatum ends up leaving, Fox will need more time to come up with a replacement, in case they want to move forward with it as planned, which, in turn, might push back the release date.
Channing Tatum, the busiest man in Hollywood right now
A possible reason for Tatum’s desire to exit “Gambit” could be the fact that he’s in very high demand right now. In addition to being the actor everybody wants to work with, he’s also branching out into directing and producing, while he continues to write.
It could be - and this is just speculation at this point - that his involvement required more of his time than he initially anticipated, and he’s considering leaving it so he could focus on other stuff. If you check out the interview below, in which he talked about his plans with the character and the direction he thought the film would be taking it, he seemed eager to get to work and pleased with landing the job.
That is to say, if he’s leaving, it’s probably not a decision he made easily.