'I hope it will happen,' the filmmaker says in an interview, insisting that Channing Tatum, who is tapped to play the titular superhero, is the perfect person to take on the role.
- March 29, 2019
AceShowbiz - Filmmaker Simon Kinberg is remaining optimistic about the future of his stalled "Gambit (2020)" movie, insisting Channing Tatum was "born to play" the titular superhero.
The Marvel comics film has been in development for years, but the project has faced a string of setbacks, forcing directors Rupert Wyatt and Doug Liman to each pull out due to scheduling conflicts.
Gore Verbinski was tapped to take over the 20th Century Fox movie in 2017, and it was even given a planned release date of February, 2019, but production on "Gambit" was put on hold as Disney bosses began the acquisition of Fox.
The massive deal has since been officially completed, but it's left a string of Fox films in limbo as Disney officials begin sorting through the ones they want to keep and the ones set to be tossed.
"All of the movies at Fox are being evaluated," producer Simon Kinberg tells Variety.
However, he is hopeful that Tatum will get to don the "X-Men" character's costume in the near future, because the "Magic Mike" star is the perfect person to take on the role.
"I love the idea of Channing playing Gambit," shares Kinberg, who made his directorial debut with the upcoming X-Men movie Dark Phoenix. "I think we have a great script for it and I think it's a role he was born to play. It's a character I grew up loving and I know the fans love. So I suspect, I hope it will happen."
Channing won't be the first actor to portray "Gambit" in a live-action release - Taylor Kitsch played the mutant superhero in 2009's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine".
