Fox’s Gambit film is finally back on track. A couple months ago, plot rumors hit the internet, generating a lot of buzz. Reports suggest it will be a heist film. People referred to it as a superhero Ocean’s 11. Mister Sinister is supposedly the film’s antagonist (and/or Red Death) and the movie aims to focus on Gambit’s early years. Ever a fan-favorite, people have clamored for a Gambit movie for years. Channing Tatum landed the role ages ago. And now the film has its leading lady in Lizzy Caplan (The Disaster Artist).
Caplan’s role is as of yet unknown, being kept under wraps. Most are familiar with his relationship with fellow X-Man, Rogue. But the odds of it being her are near zero. However, there is another femme fatale that all eyes are on – Bella Donna Boudreaux, leader of the Assassins Guild and a noteworthy aspect of Gambit’s past. And the leading role was reportedly offered to Lea Seydoux, some two years ago. It’s entirely possible that this aspect has been maintained despite the script changes, director do-si-do, and casting shift. It’ll be interesting to see where they take this.
The success of Logan, and especially Deadpool, have definitely been a boon to the film. Fox has gone back and forth on it for years to the point where it seemed like it’d forever be in development. We’d constantly hear something about it and then it’d vanish again. But following the recent successes for the studio in these endeavors, the project has been fast-tracked once more. This casting news is the first major update since the film’s latest change of directors. Tatum, himself, even acknowledged the impact those two films have had on this one.
“We were trying to do something completely different,” said Tatum. “Something that this genre of movie hasn’t seen before. We kept running into the same problems, and then Deadpool and Logan came through and kicked the doors down.”
One has to wonder if this may actually factor into the next Deadpool at all. The end credits stinger in Deadpool did tease Cable. And now Cable is coming to Deadpool 2. Especially with the addition of Domino to the cast, could Deadpool 2 wind up teasing the upcoming Gambit film? It’s not entirely likely, given the status of the movie. But it would be a nice little nod. Perhaps have Gambit steal something from Deadpool and leave his calling card. Assuming he’ll still be acting solo and not a member of the X-Men proper, by that time in continuity.
All of this follows reports of talk that various companies are aiming to acquire Fox’s film assets. The most famous example is obviously Disney, no doubt gunning to get the X-Men and Fantastic Four rights for the MCU. However, Sony was also reportedly throwing their hat into the proverbial ring. Perhaps they’re looking to merge the X-Men and Fantastic Four universes with Spider-Man? There is quite a lot of potential for something like that. Of course, the asterisk there is that Sony doesn’t hold the reins on Spider-Man, himself, at the moment, just a significant portion of the universe around him. Regardless, the direction those talks wind up taking is still up in the air. One could argue that under another banner, Logan and Deadpool may not have even happened. At least not the way they did.
Whatever happens, Gambit is still chugging along towards a February 14, 2019, premiere.
