Rumoured Frontrunners To Direct Gambit
2016 is set to be a busy year for the Marvel end of 20th Century Fox. Three superhero movies based on characters from the comic book giants are set to be released by Fox throughout the year, starting with ‘Deadpool’ in February, and followed by ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ in May.
However, one other Fox movie starring an iconic Marvel mutant is having a little more difficulty getting past the starting line: ‘Gambit,’ starring Channing Tatum as the Cajun bad boy with a tendency to turn playing cards into explosive projectiles.
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The project hit a major stumbling block when original director Rupert Wyatt dropped out. At present no replacement director has been confirmed - and the film has an October 2016 release date to meet.
Word broke earlier this week that Doug Liman is being courted for the job - but according to Heroic Hollywood, there may also be two other contenders.
And according to HH’s sources, those contenders are… Joe Cornish and Shane Black.
Neither filmmaker is a stranger to Marvel superheroes, with Cornish having co-written the original script of ‘Ant-Man,’ and Black having co-written and directed ‘Iron Man 3.’
Still, is either likely to take the job? Black is currently in post-production on his next directorial effort, detective comedy ‘The Nice Guys,’ and has a few other movies lined up including a new ‘Predator’ and the long in-development ‘Doc Savage.’
Cornish, on the other hand, still has only one directorial credit to his name - 2011′s ‘Attack the Block.’ While he has been linked to a number of high-profile Hollywood movies, notably ‘A Good Day To Die Hard’ and ‘Star Trek Beyond,’ he hasn’t wound up taking any of them to date.
It’s also notable that both Black and Cornish are more prolific as writers than directors, Black’s credits including action classic ‘Lethal Weapon,’ plus ‘The Last Boy Scout’ and ‘The Long Kiss Goodnight,’ whilst Cornish’s include ‘The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn.’
As such, would either man be happy to direct ‘Gambit’ without making their own mark on the script from Joshua Zetumer (whose only other credit to date is the ‘Robocop’ remake)?
Whoever ends up getting the job of director - be it Liman, Black, Cornish, or anyone else - ‘Gambit’ is still set to star Channing Tatum and Lea Seydoux, and hit screens on 7 October 2016.
Picture Credit: Marvel, WENN
