Disney and Fox may be looking to complete their merger in 2019, but that hasn’t stopped the development of the Gambit movie. Channing Tatum has been attached to the film for almost half a decade, but it still hasn’t happened yet. While speaking with IGN, Simon Kinberg, the director and executive producer of X-Men: Dark Phoenix, shared a short update on Gambit. He also described it as a “romantic comedy.”
“When you look at Gambit, he’s a hustler and a womanizer and we just felt like there was an attitude, a swagger to him, that lent itself to romantic comedy,” said Kinberg. “You know, when I say romantic comedy, I use that term loosely, in the same term that I use the term western for Logan loosely. It’s not like they’re gunslingers at high noon in Logan. It’s just a vibe. And I would say the vibe of Gambit has a romantic or sex comedy vibe to it. While it is also still very much a superhero movie with villains and heroes, as all these movies are.”
RELATED: Director Gore Verbinski has pulled out of the Gambit movie
Kinberg added that “Gambit has a great script and we’re looking to start that movie early next year.” However, this may be an overly optimistic assessment of the project. Director Gore Verbinski left the Gambit movie back in January, and the studio still hasn’t found a replacement. Gambit has already passed through two previous directors: Rupert Wyatt and Doug Liman. Getting a new director on board in time for an early 2019 start may be a Herculean task.
Once Disney takes over the Fox assets, it doesn’t seem likely that a solo Gambit film developed by the previous regime will have a high priority. There may very well be a Gambit movie one day, but the clock is ticking for Kinberg and company to get this project off the ground.
