Fox’s Gambit spinoff is quickly coming together after two director hiccups and major script rewrites.
Our friends over at SplashReport revealed some possible details on the film, along with a rumor that the studio wants Daniel Craig as villain Mister Sinister.
The studio has also announced that Gambit will be released on February 14th, 2019. We had previously mentioned the studio eyeing the spot many hours before the announcement. Gore Verbinski (Pirates of The Caribbean Trilogy, The Mexican, The Ring) has been seemingly been set to direct the film. Gambit is expected to begin production early next year.
We also contributed ourselves with the news that the studio would be keeping the working title Chess for the project.
Well, we have exciting new details to share with fans.
Omega Underground has exclusively obtained an audition tape for Gambit that could reveal some character dynamics in the film. Previously, we’ve uncovered X-Men audition tapes for X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Deadpool 2, and New Mutants.
Due to date of the audition being from July 6th, 2016, it’s likely from the Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow, American Made) incarnation of the film (2015-2017), as Liman was hellbent on recasting certain roles, including French actress Lea Seydoux (Spectre, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Inglorious Basterds) as female lead Bella Donna Boudreaux.
There had been chatter that Liman wasn’t a fan of Seydoux in the role.
This audition tape supports that talk, as film and theatre actress Ali Rodney (The Victorians) is seen here auditioning with a southern accent for what seems to be the Bella Donna part. The audition was recorded well after the offer was reportedly sent out to Seydoux back in August 2015.
While it’s been revealed multiple times Gambit will be a heist/crime centric film, the release date of Valentines Day suggests they’ll be playing up the love story within it. Potentially between Remy and Bella Donna, the two become lovers and eventually get married. There are some hints to this past relationship in the dialog used in Ali’s audition, along with her possible role in the film as a possible fixer or middle-man for these heists.
The character she’s speaking to here is Remy LeBeau.
SCENE #1:
GAMBIT: It’s your coat.
BELLA: Okay, I’m not gonna play these games with you.
GAMBIT: I just need some intel. I don’t like working a job unless I know what I’m stealing.
BELLA: You have such little respect for me, you think I’d just tell you?
GAMBIT: Someone less manly than myself might say that you owe me.
BELLA: I don’t owe you shit! [laughs] Unless you got something for me.
GAMBIT: I think I have something you want. Something you’ve always wanted.
BELLA: Oh, I see, I’m going to pull back the curtain and dazzle me with intellect, huh?
GAMBIT: Why don’t we make a game of it? You answer a question, I’ll give you a peek in my mind. It’ll be like when we played strip poker.
BELLA: Hmm..Only with your thoughts. Alright, I’m game. Shoot.
SCENE #2:
G: That’s one of my worst [inaudable]
B: Yeah, that’s not fair.
G: [inaudable] ..we could have had everything.
B: Is that your question?
G: Yeah.
B: I.. I don’t know. I guess I just froze it was a chicken-shit thing to do. I guess I just saw a different side of you that day. A darker side it scared me. I didn’t feel safe with you.
G: You’re right, I was an asshole. I’m sorry.
B: Yeah, uh, I’m sorry too. Now, you owe me one more.
B: [smiles] What was that?
G: Those were my expectations. I think we need a hotel.
B: Yeah. [laughs]
https://vimeo.com/173596532
Their marriage is also an attempt to keep tensions between their warring New Orleans gangs at bay, those gangs being Thieves Guild (Gambit) and Assassins Guild (Bella Donna). It’s unknown from this tape if they’ve been previously married or just had a falling out, attempting to rekindle their spark.
Something worth noting is that Bella’s powers don’t involve telekinesis as seen in the audition, which is most notably connected to Candra aka Red Death, an External and Benefactress of the Guilds. We’ve exclusively learned from a source with knowledge of Gambit’s character lineup that Candra will, in fact, appear in the film. How she fits into the film’s plot is a bit of a mystery at the moment.
There has been an assumption for years that Gambit will indeed shoot in the Lousiana area. It wouldn’t be terribly shocking to see it’s production take place there as James Mangold filmed a portion of Logan in the state.
We’re hopeful that Gore and Fox end up circling back to Lea Seydoux for the Bella Donna role, but this tape does suggest they were seeking other actresses as recently as last summer. Word is that the studio is still keen on Lea for the role but this hasn’t been confirmed.
Casting should be up and running very soon, so stay tuned for more Gambit news!
SOURCE: OMEGA UNDERGROUND