The long-gestating "Gambit" movie is apparently still in the works. The movie has been facing a lot of setbacks, but "Gambit" is definitely happening, with Channing Tatum still attached to the role.
"[Gambit is] in active development. It's a movie that we hope will be ready to go by the end of this year and shoot next year," Simon Kinberg told Comicbook.com (via MoviePilot). "The process has been that Channing [Tatum] is as determined about getting the character right as Ryan Reynolds was about Deadpool and Hugh [Jackman] was about this Logan movie."
Kinberg added that they want to get the movie right and make sure it succeeds as it is hope that "Gambit" will be the next big superhero franchise.
Kinberg's assurance that Tatum is still on board "Gambit" answers rumblings that the actor has jumped ship and moved on to a more stable superhero project under DC Comics and Warner Bros. The rumors came out when then "The Flash" director Rick Famuyiwa started following people connected to the DC Comics Extended Universe and also followed Tatum, with whom Famuyiwa has had no prior relations.
So far, only Tatum has been confirmed for the movie. The plot and the other characters have not been revealed yet.
The explanation for the delay is similar to the one Kinberg gave in 2016, when he said they were still finding the right tone for "Gambit." "I hope that 'Gambit' doesn't take 10 years, but it takes a little honing to get that tone and that voice exactly right," Kinberg told Variety. "The character has such a specific voice in the comic in the same way that 'Deadpool' has a specific voice in the comic."
"Gambit" is currently without a director, as potential director Doug Liman exited the project to work on DC's "Justice League Dark" live-action movie.
As for the "Gambit" release date, Kinberg was previously hopeful that the movie would be out by 2017, however that appears to be unlikely since production has not even started yet. If "Gambit" does begin production later this year, a "Gambit" release date can be expected on 2019.