If you’ve been following the development of the X-Men spin-off movie Gambit, then you know that it has been in a bit of trouble recently. After taking a surprisingly long time to find a director, the studio finally hired Rupert Wyatt to take the helm this past summer… but then he wound up leaving the ship. As a result of this, there have been many question marks hanging around the production, and we recently got an update on it from star Lea Seydoux. Unfortunately, it looks as though the project is very much in limbo, and currently doesn’t have a start of production penciled in on the calendar.
I had the chance to talk with the French actress this past weekend while down in Mexico City for the Spectre press junket. While she was paired with her James Bond co-star Monica Bellucci, I took the opportunity to ask her about the current status of Gambit, and her response was paired with a very appropriate hand shrug and smile:
For the moment it’s… I have nothing to say!
You can watch Lea Seydoux’s response in the video below, which also includes her quick response to my follow-up question about if there was a start of production scheduled:
Not having a start of production scheduled is certainly troubling news for Gambit - which was announced for an October 7, 2016 release date back in January of this year. In case you didn’t notice, that means that the film is now supposed to be less than a year away, and given that not a single frame has been shot, that means that means that the blockbuster production isn’t going to have a ton of time to actually get made if it wants to stay on its current schedule. After this update from Lea Seydoux, it’s pretty fair to assume that the next step for the project will be pushing the theatrical release to 2017.
In Gambit, Seydoux will be starring opposite Channing Tatum as Bella Donna Boudreaux, a childhood friend of the titular character and the daughter of the leader of the Assassins Guild (making her a touch star-crossed with Gambit – the son of the leader of the Thieves Guild). Eventually it’s decided by both houses that Gambit and Bella Donna should be married to usher in a peace between the clans, but without giving too much away, this doesn’t exactly goes as planned.
Stay tuned not only for more updates about Gambit, but also more from my interviews with the cast of Spectre - which arrives in theaters this Friday, November 6th.
