The X-Men franchise has a lot of movies coming in 2018 and beyond to sustain the world of mutants, but there's one movie that continues to elude the big screen: Gambit. Having been in development for several years, the movie starring the Ragin' Cajun has hit numerous setbacks, one of those being when The Bourne Identity's Doug Liman left the directing position late last summer. Nine months later, Liman has shed light on why he didn't want to work on Gambit anymore, attributing his departure to not finding any personal, meaningful ties with the X-Men feature. He explained:
I look for a personal connection to the movies I make and it may not be immediately obvious. ... With Gambit, I just never found that personal way in. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't.
There may be more to this story than Doug Liman's willing to disclose to We Got This Covered, but not finding a personal connection to Gambit is certainly a good reason for not staying on as director. If his heart wasn't completely in telling the card-carrying mutant's solo movie, then it's for the best that he left rather than work on it without the proper enthusiasm. It's better 20th Century Fox and the X-Men movie bigwigs find someone who is all in on making sure Gambit's movie is the best it can be. Gambit is one of the more popular X-Men characters, and with 20th Century Fox clearly wanting him to enjoy the same kind of success as Wolverine and Deadpool, there's little room for error in bringing his cinematic adventure to life.
Doug Liman is the second director to leave Gambit, following behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes' Rupert Wyatt, who dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. While Liman won't be contributing to the X-Men franchise, he's still staying involved with superheroes, as he's set to direct Justice League Dark for DC Comics and Warner Bros, which will see magical protagonists like John Constantine, Zatanna, Swamp Thing and Deadman banding together. As for Gambit, a new director still hasn't been announced yet, but Channing Tatum is still attached to play Remy LeBeau, who was last seen played by Taylor Kitsch in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Léa Seydoux was also cast as Bella Donna Boudreaux in 2015, but with so many delays, it's unclear whether or not she's still starring in the blockbuster.
Gambit remains unscheduled, but it is expected to start shooting in early 2018. In the meantime, X-Men fans have New Mutants, Deadpool 2 and X-Men: Dark Phoenix to look forward to next year, as well as X-Force being in development. You can also see Doug Liman's latest movie, The Wall, in theaters this Friday, May 12.
