Rumors surface that the X-Men spinoff may lose its leading man before it even begins.
[dropcap size=small]R[/dropcap]eports are coming in that Channing Tatum will be leaving/is on the verge of leaving the upcoming X-Men spinoff movie starring the card throwing, Cajun badass Gambit. This news comes only a few weeks after Tatum appeared at Comic-Con promoting the movie with great enthusiasm.
Reported by TheWrap, Tatum’s deal to star in the movie is falling apart and there are talks that he will drop out of the project. He is not officially departed from the movie but Tatum has made it apparent that negotiations are not going well. Fox has not yet made a comment on the subject.
Tatum announced that he would be playing Remy LeBeau last year and has spent a lot of time hyping the movie up even though he is the only one officially casted (for now). Recently the movie got its director in Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes). The film has a release date in October of 2016, which does not give Wyatt a lot of leeway for when filming can begin. The deal needs to be worked out soon or it may pose a risk to the release date being pushed back due to producers having to find a new title character.
At the moment, Tatum is intending to produce the movie along with starring in it. It is unclear whether Tatum and partner Reid Carolin will stay in the producing role if Tatum chooses to exit the movie. The duo stated to GrantLand that they had interest in directing the movie so it may be possible that the addition of Wyatt in the directing role could be the cause of Tatum wanting to depart. That is not the confirmed reason though, but many believe that it could be playing a role in Tatum wanting out of the film.
As of right now, there has been no official confirmation from either party on the subject, but we will keep you updated as news comes in.
Gambit is slated for release on October 7th, 2016.
