Channing Tatum’s ‘Gambit’ gets February 2019 release date.
The Logan Lucky actor has been eager to portray the X-Men superhero on the big screen for some time, and was first linked to the Marvel movie back in 2014.
While the development process has seen several setbacks, with both The Rise of the Planet of the Apes director Rupert Wyatt and his replacement, filmmaker Doug Liman, having to pull out due to scheduling conflicts, 20th Century Fox has now confirmed that the film will be released on 14 February 2019.
Director Gore Verbinski has been tapped to helm the movie, while Josh Zetumer has penned the script. Tatum, Reid Carolin, Simon Kinberg and Lauren Shuler Donner will act as producers.
Gambit, also known as Remy LeBeau, was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee and first appeared in comic books in 1990. The character belongs to a subspecies of humans called mutants, and has the ability to mentally create, control, and manipulate pure kinetic energy – as well as being skilled in card throwing and hand-to-hand combat.
Although he did not appear in the first three X-Men films, Gambit appeared on screen in the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine, where he was portrayed by actor Taylor Kitsch.
Gambit will be going up against New Line/Warner Bros’ comedy Isn’t It Romantic, starring Rebel Wilson and Liam Hemsworth. But the Valentine’s Day release date is evidently a savvy move for Fox, as the studio’s superhero flick Deadpool won huge audiences when it was released shortly before the romantic occasion in 2016.
In addition to Gambit, Fox has three other X-Men movies lined up for 2018, including New Mutants, Deadpool 2 and X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
Tatum latest movie is Kingsman: The Golden Circle and he has several voice-acting roles on the go, including parts in America: The Motion Picture and Smallfoot.
