Gambit

The filmmaker with the distinct privilege of being eyed by Channing Tatum to direct the ‘Gambit’ movie happens to be one Doug Liman, most recently at the head of the deservedly beloved Edge of Tomorrow

Following last month’s brief (very brief) confusion over whether Channing Tatum was fully committed to the Gambit solo movie comes news of an actual shakeup behind the scenes. Director Rupert Wyatt has exited the project, leaving the director’s chair vacant and 20th Century Fox in need of a quick replacement if they hope to make their fall 2016 release date.

With the X-Men timeline effectively reset following the events in Days of Future Past, and with Gambit and Deadpool movies on the way, 20th Century Fox’s version of the MCU is now open to more interesting possibilities. Writer and producer Simon Kinberg has previously hinted at crossover possibilities within the mutant cinematic universe, but his latest statements suggest that the idea has moved from hypothetical to legitimate plan.

A few weeks back we learned that a few actresses were on 20th Century Fox’s shortlist to star opposite Channing Tatum in Gambit: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation breakout star Rebecca Ferguson, Mad Max: Fury Road’s Abbey Lee, and Spectre’s Lea Seydoux. Ferguson declined to take the part, leaving just Lee and Seydoux, but it looks like the latter has the part locked down…if she wants it.

Last week, when news broke that Channing Tatum might be leaving Gambit, there was a little extra piece of news that you may not have noticed while you were panicking: Tatum was in the midst of testing opposite potential leading ladies, including Spectre star Lea Seydoux. 20th Century Fox has a couple of other interesting names on their lead actress short list, including Rebecca Ferguson, who just kicked all of the ass in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.

Earlier this week news broke that Channing Tatum had abruptly (at least from an outsider’s perspective) exited the Gambit solo film. No reason was given, although with the reported, proposed budget coming in at $160 million (that’s $10 million more than X-Men: Days of Future Past), it seemed fair to speculate that Tatum’s departure had something to do with budget issues. You can breathe a sigh of relief now, though, because Tatum is back on the Gambit pony.

Lots of superhero news today, but not all of it is good (depending on your perspective): Channing Tatum has reportedly exited the Gambit solo movie, even though the actor recently appeared with the X-Men and Deadpool casts at Comic-Con, where he participated in a very memorable group selfie.

Deadpool wasn’t the only character who wasn’t properly represented in X-Men Origins: Wolverine — Gambit was also fairly disappointing in that film, leading many fans to wonder if we’d ever see a decent version of the character on the big screen. We’re finally getting our wish with Channing Tatum in the role of the Cajun mutant, and new info on the film not only reveals that it will begin shooting this fall, but gives us some idea of the players involved.

Now that Magic Mike XXL has been unleashed in theaters, we’re all moving on to Channing Tatum’s next big project: Gambit. The X-Men superhero’s solo movie was one we never thought could reasonably happen, especially after the horror of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. But we’re in a new, better X-Men era, and Tatum — along with his producing partner Reid Carolin — are giving us even more hope with their latest update on the film.

As readers will know from our weekly Best Cosplay Ever feature, we’re big fans of cosplay at ComicsAlliance. The comics, sci-fi, gaming, and fantasy communities have proved time and again their exceptional talents for homemade disguises and superheroic sartorial excellence, and all of their craft and skill will be on display this weekend at HeroesCon. Our chief cosplay correspondent Betty Felon is on hand to document as much of it as she can. Scroll down for some of the very finest cosplay from HeroesCon!