When directorRupert Wyattdeparted the director’s chair of Fox’sGambitpicture last month, the adaptation of the Marvel comic character’s story was left without anyone at the helm. To fill that vacancy, recent reports have suggested that starChanning Tatumhas been courting directorDoug Liman(Edge of Tomorrow). However, it’s looking like more directors are of interest for the chair, which is unsurprising considering how popular and successful the majority of comic book movies have been in recent years.
Heroic Hollywoodreports thatJoe Cornish(Attack the Block) andShane Black(Iron Man 3) are also in contention to directGambit. The production will have some time to sort everything out since although they were scheduled to start next month, it now looks like the start of filming will be pushed back until March of 2016. This puts the film’s planned June 09, 2025 release date in question as it’ll likely be delayed as well. I’d expect to hear a more solid rescheduling of that date once a director is locked down.
Cornish’s main hit as a director came by way of 2011’s sci-fi/action flick,Attack the Block, in whichJohn Boyega(Star Wars: The Force Awakens) leads a gang of South London teens against invading alien creatures. While he hasn’t directed a feature film since then, he does have writing credits on this year’s Marvel movie,Ant-Man.Attack the Blockwas a fun and fresh take on the alien invasion sub-genre, but it’s hard to track just what influences Cornish brought toAnt-Mansince he shared writing credits with multiple other screenwriters. With such a limited filmography to glean from, it’s hard to say just how a Cornish-ledGambitfilm would turn out.
Black, on the other hand, already has the big-budgetedIron Man 3on his resume and is slated to direct a newPredatorfilm, Sony’s adaptation of the pulp comics characterDoc Savage, and the crime/mystery movieThe Nice Guys, which sounds to be reminiscent of hisKiss Kiss Bang Bang. He’s in post-production on the latter film and has turned in his most recent draft ofPredatorto Fox. It’s because of this studio connection and his comic book movie experience that Black seems like a good pick forGambit, but Cornish could certainly make a worthy dark horse candidate. Let’s not forget that Liman is in the mix as well.
Who would you want to see directGambit? Is it one of the names mentioned above or someone else not yet considered? Do you think Tatum has reached the point in his career when he can sit in the director’s chair himself? Let us know in the comments!
For more on our recent and continuing coverage of Gambit, be sure to check out our articles at the following links:
