‘Gambit’ Delayed Again Due To Script Rewrites; Lea Seydoux Being Replaced

Mar 29, 2016

Doug Liman was expected to begin production on Fox’s X-Men spin-off Gambit next month, starring Channing Tatum. Another setback has delayed production yet again, this time concerning a script rewrite according to The Hollywood Reporter.

<> "White House Down" New York Premiere at on June 25, 2013 in New York City.

Tatum has brought-in Magic Mike and Magic Mike XXL screenwriter Reid Carolin, who is also his producing partner to handle the rewrites. The Magic Mike films might not be to everyone’s taste but they were well written and made movies. Reid will likely add the needed polishes to the script.

Details concerning the rewrites are unknown, but considering Wolverine 3 has a confirmed R-rating and Deadpool‘s box office reaching $745 million worldwide, they could be aiming for a mature audience. Then again, we don’t know that to be the actual case.

lea-seydoux-james-bond-girl

The Wrap adds that lead actress Lea Seydoux (hired by former director Rupert Wyatt) is likely getting her role recast with a new actress, as Doug will be casting from the project scratch, excluding Tatum.

REBECCA_FERGUSON_ROGUE_BELLA-DONNA_GAMBIT_X-MEN_

Previously in the running for the role included Lea’s fellow Mission: Impossible alumni Rebecca Ferguson, who might seem like an excellent replacement that’s if Doug would even consider her.

I’m curious if the female lead will still be Bella Donna, or will they attempt to replace her with a rebooted version of Remy’s fellow X-Men Rogue instead with a brand new actress?

It’s possible the rewrites could be happening to play-up the romantic angle, not unlike seen in Deadpool and even help include other X-Men in cameos like Rogue and others. At the time of Rupert’s incarnation we hadn’t heard if any other X-Men would be apart of the film, which likely could add characters like the Morlocks.

Screen shot 2016-03-29 at 4.52.10 PM

I’ve been holding out hope we could end-up seeing a more faithful comic book version of Rogue in the future and the Gambit films feel like the right place to do this. Considering, she also started out as a villain, Rogue might be a good fit for this criminal mutant underworld setting.

We figured something was wrong when the rest of the casting for the film never came together, as you’d expect major roles would be filled by now, if the April shoot was to go ahead as planned.

This is the second time the production has been delayed, the first time when Fox and Tatum had to find a replacement for director Rupert Wyatt when he exited in the fall.

It’s not uncommon for a director to make major creative changes like these to a project once they’ve come in to take over a project from another director. Knowing Liman’s attention to detail it might be a really good thing.

A production date hasn’t been given but it’s said to begin late 2016.

This delay could mean that film won’t be ready for release until late 2017 or early 2018.

Meanwhile, Liman is in talks to make the sniper thriller The Wall for Amazon Studios, while the Gambit script is undergoing it’s rewrites.

 

SOURCE: THR

SHARE THIS POST