It’s bad when a movie’s star has to be the one to come out and tell the audience the movie’s still happening. Of course, this is Fox, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone. The development behind Fox’s Gambit film has been a mess since it was announced. On paper, a Gambit movie should be a great idea. The success of last year’s Deadpool proved that audiences can forget the movie that shall not be named. Taylor Kitsch is out, and Channing Tatum is in. It’s a good first step. But for the longest time, it seemed content to follow in SHAZAM‘s footsteps, with an overly long period in development hell. Finally, however, the movie appears to have made some progress.
The movie apparently started from scratch, according to Tatum. But now there are rumored plot details to discuss. For one thing, it’s been pointed out that the movie is shaping up to be the Ocean’s 11 of superhero movies. So essentially, it’s going for a heist movie vibe. Sort of like Ant-Man, though probably with a little more emphasis on the stealing. Apparently, the title character will be dealing with two heists, over two different spans of time. How close together will they be? The movie is looking to revolve around his origins in the Thieves Guild, and later his being hired by a certain Nathaniel Essex. Who is Nathaniel Essex? Those familiar with X-Men lore may remember that as the civilian name of Mister Sinister, a major X-Men antagonist.
Sinister will supposedly enlist Gambit and his plan to steal back a trunk that his old rival clan stole. This could be a rather effective setup. Many fans have been clamoring for the direct involvement of Mister Sinister. It does appear as if the movie is aiming to be connected to the other X-Men films, as well. Gambit will be enlisting the aid of Dani Moonstar, in the film, who is also slated to appear in the upcoming New Mutants movie. That said, nothing is certain. The movie could very well be following in Deadpool’s footsteps, with a sketchy-at-best connection to the other films. Either way, these are very interesting details that could make a pretty fun movie.
This news certainly revitalizes the project in a big way. Gambit has had a tough time gaining any real traction. The film’s prior director left, citing script issues. A new director has yet to be chosen, but Fox definitely wants to keep going with the project. Deadpool 2 and New Mutants have wrapped production, and an X-Force film is on the way. Their track record with the X-Men franchise has been spotty, at best. But here’s hoping Gambit delivers in the end.
