Fox Studios simply can not catch a break with their Marvel Comics’ films in 2015. It’s possible that we might one day get a movie about the turmoil of this period. The infamous production of Fantastic Four showed public signs that the movie was doomed, even before cameras started rolling on the movie, due to studio meddling in the project.
Over the summer there was a messy public negotiation where reportedly the star and producer, Channing Tatum, threatened to leave the project. However, that was quickly settled and it seemed that the production was gearing to shoot in the coming months. Casting has been in full swing with Lea Seydoux (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol) cast as the female lead, while the rest of the supporting cast was being assembled. The movie is scheduled for an October 2016 release, with only 13 months til the film hits theaters, Gambit has encountered its biggest hurdle yet.
According to a report by Deadline, the director Rupert Wyatt, has unexpectedly left the production. After the public firestorm between Fox Studios and Josh Trank over the Fantastic Four movie, where the director accused the studio of essentially hijacking his movie, it’s easy to understand if people cast a judgemental eye. However, in this case Wyatt is citing a schedule conflict, due to the movie being pushed forward a few months. Here is his statement.
“I was very much looking forward to working with my friend Channing and the team at Fox, but regrettably a push in the start date now conflicts with another project. I thank them for the opportunity, and I know that Gambit will make a terrific film.”
Even before Wyatt departed the film, it’s hard to imagine how a high-quality and effects-heavy film that hasn’t even finished casting, will be ready in a year. Now that the camp is going back to square one and searching for a new director to helm the picture, it would seem that it would be wise to push the release date. However, if that was an option, they probably would have taken it before Wyatt left the film.
While Marvel has proven that it was able to save Ant-Man, when Edgar Wright departed at the last minute. Fox’s track record is a lot more sketchy with mishaps like the aforementioned Fantastic Four and even X-Men: The Last Stand, where Brett Ratner was brought in to replace Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman: The Secret Service) at the 11th hour, resulting in one of the worse X-Men films in the collection. There will be much more to this story, most importantly who is chosen to replace Wyatt and if the release date for Gambit will be affected. Information should be coming quickly, so make sure to check back for the latest in Fox/Marvel news.
Gambit is currently scheduled for a October 7th, 2016 release.
Do you think that this is a sign of disaster for the production? Who would you like to see direct Gambit? Let us know on the comment boards below, on and !