14 DAY TRIAL // Channing Tatum has closed the deal on the “Gambit” spinoff and is officially part of 20th Century Fox’s comic book-based movie universe, Variety confirms.
The news comes hot on the heels of reports that negotiations had hit a major bump in the road and that Tatum, who had been attached to the project for almost a year, was one foot out the door.
Apparently, Fox was already looking for possible replacements, to have the upper hand when Tatum did leave for good. They won’t be needing them after all, because Tatum is now locked on, and will star and produce the spinoff that remains scheduled for October 2016.
Rupter Wyatt (“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”) will direct off a script by Josh Zetumer. The role of Gambit was previously (and briefly) played by Taylor Kitsch in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.”
In recent months, Tatum has been very vocal about his desire to take the character further than what was hinted of it in that cameo. He also stressed that he was thrilled at the idea of becoming part of such a huge family as was the cast of “X-Men,” both the original one and the younger one, and he even made an appearance at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con with them.
The Comic-Con 2015 appearance was confirmation for the fans and the industry people that Tatum was a sure thing for “Gambit,” which is why the report that he was leaving came as such a shock.