A story made the rounds last week that despite being the main champion for it, it looked like the Gambit solo movie was about to lose star Channing Tatum due to some last minute contract negotiations with 20th Century Fox that had suddenly soured. With the film set to start production in October and a set to open almost exactly a year later, needing to find a replacement now would have left director Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) in a situation stickier than teenage Darryn’s bedsheets.
Luckily, none of that will be necessary as THR are reporting that Tatum has now officially signed a deal with Fox to star in and produce the X-Men spinoff with regular producing partner Reid Carolin. In fact, according to the report, while the negotiations had its up and downs, there was never any danger of Tatum leaving the production.
What was under consideration though was the extent of Tatum’s contract. According to the THR, Fox considers the character of Gambit to be as pivotal to the X-Men franchise as Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine was, which would probably mean that Tatum has more than likely signed up to appear in several films – Gambit solo films and others in the franchise – going forward.
With Tatum now officially a lock, and only a couple months left before the cameras start rolling, we can probably expect some further casting news soon. Included in the reports of Tatum’s “exit” last week was word that Lea Seydoux (Spectre, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) had screentested with Tatum and was currently the favourite for the female lead. Seeing as how the first half of that report ended up being the journalistic equivalent of crying wolf, it’s uncertain how much stock we should put in it.
Last Updated: August 3, 2015
