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‘Gambit’ Producer Gives Update On Film’s Production

By Chris Crum
Published on: 15:45 PST, Jul 10, 2016

A Gambit movie is finally getting close to production. Well, that is if you consider spring of next year close. The latest on the much-anticipated X-Men spin-off is that the film will go into production in early 2017 with a release likely for the following year. There’s a script and it sounds like it’s about where it needs to be.

The Hashtag Show got the exclusive with producer Simon Kinberg, who said, “We have a great script on that and we hope to shoot at the beginning of, or Spring of next year.

In addition to Gambit, Kinberg talked a little bit about the New Mutants movie that’s in the works. He wouldn’t give any cast info, but said that Josh Boone (The Fault In Our Stars) is directing and that they have a “really good” script. That film is expected to go into production very soon. Asked if the movie will target the young adult audience, Kinberg just said it’s “very loyal to the comics.”

As popular of a character as Gambit has been over the years, it’s somewhat surprising that it has taken this long for him to get a proper screen presence. The character, known for his ability to use kinetic energy to turn objects into weapons and his affinity for playing cards, appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, portrayed by Taylor Kitsch. Beyond that, he’s been largely absent from the film franchise, unless you count his name appearing on a computer screen in X2: X-Men United.

It will be Channing Tatum playing the titular role in the Gambit movie. The Daily Beast once asked Kitsch if he had a shot at reprising the role.

“Um…no, I didn’t have a go. Ever since we finished the movie, it’s never really been an option. But no, I wish [Channing] nothing but the best. It was a fun character to play, and I learned a lot working with Hugh [Jackman] and had an amazing time in Australia. I’m sure they’re doing their own thing with it, and I’m sure Channing will be great.”

Doug Liman is attached to direct from a script from Reid Carolin. Carolin is known for writing Magic Mike (which also starred Tatum) while Liman’s directorial credits include Swingers, The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and Edge of Tomorrow.

According to Nerdist, while Gambit doesn’t have an official release date, Fox has March 2 and June 29 of 2018 pegged for X-Men-related movies, so it’s likely that the film will fall into one of these two slots.

As Inquisitr recently reported, Kinberg also provided an update on Deadpool 2 last month. At the time, he also mentioned Mutants and Gambit. Kinberg, who also produced the first Deadpool film in addition to X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Fantastic Four, and X-Men: Apocalypse, said they “certainly know” they’re making Deadpool 2 and that they’re making the next Wolverine movie.

“We want to make a New Mutants movie,” he said in a video interview shared by Collider. “We’re really, really serious about making a Gambit movie and figuring out what the next X-Men movie’s going to be, which is all that I can tell you.

Kinberg said of the Deadpool sequel at the time, “The guys — [Paul] Wernick and [Rhett] Reese — are working on the script. We hope to have a script very soon…We hope to shoot the movie sometime at the beginning of next year.”

While it may be a while before we get to see Gambit in theaters, fans will have no shortage of X-Men and mutant-related entertainment from the Marvel universe to tide them over.

[Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images]

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