Trouble has been brewing around Channing Tatum's "X-Men" spinoff "Gambit" for months, and now, the flick has reportedly suffered another setback. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is undergoing a new series of rewrites, which have pushed production back until later this year. That means that "Gambit"'s planned October 2016 release date has now been canceled completely, and so far no replacement date has been scheduled.

THR reports that "Gambit" director Doug Liman will now direct an entirely different movie during the timeframe he was to shoot the mutant flick, which is now tentatively scheduled to begin production at the end of 2016. "Gambit" is currently in the midst of extensive rewrites, per THR's report, with Tatum's producing partner, Reid Carolin, handling scripting duties for this latest pass over the screenplay.

This is just the newest roadblock for "Gambit," which has had a seemingly never-ending string of problems since studio Fox gave it the official greenlight last year. First, the flick spent months searching for a director (and was reportedly passed on by a bunch of big names, including Darren Aronofsky and Bennett Miller). Then, Rupert Wyatt ("Rise of the Planet of the Apes") signed on, only to drop out of the project a few months later amid reported conflict over creative decisions (and a significantly altered production scheduled). Liman swooped in two months later, but then the planned March 2016 start date -- pushed back from November 2015 -- was once again delayed.

So things don't look great at this point for "Gambit," and with Liman off filming another movie, that will give him even less time to prep for the spinoff's shoot (though THR says the director "plans on knocking it out with a late spring/early summer shoot before returning to pre-production on 'Gambit'"). THR also reports that the status of Lea Seydoux, who was to have played the female lead, is also unclear at this point; the potential recasting of a major role could be another obstacle that delays the proceedings. But on the flip side, Ryan Reynolds kept hope alive for seven years before his passion project, "Deadpool," hit theaters; perhaps Tatum just needs to be patient, and "Gambit" will eventually come together.

Stay tuned. It seems this story is nowhere near close to finished.

[via: The Hollywood Reporter]

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