Doug Liman To Direct 'Gambit'?
Mon, October 19, 2015 
Just last month we reported that Rupert Wyatt (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) had left the director's chair for Gambit. While it was officially stated it had to do with a scheduling conflict for another project, buzz behind-the-scenes was that Wyatt was clashing with the studio over his vision for the film (with this being 20th Century Fox, there's a shocker).
We haven't heard anything on the project since, but just last night it was reported that none other than Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Edge of Tomorrow) is being courted by star Channing Tatum himself to come aboard and helm:
True that Channing Tatum has been courting Doug Liman to direct GAMBIT. We'll see if he goes for it though...
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) October 18, 2015
That tweet was sent out by The Wrap's Jeff Sneider, responding to a Deadline article where it was mentioned Liman has the inside track to direct the project.
Personally, I doubt this all happens. Doug Liman is well-known to be a great director but an absolute nightmare to work with for a studio. His films always have lengthy and rough productions as he constantly changes scenes from what's written in the scripts to try something new (though if you look at his results, especially with last year's Edge of Tomorrow, it'd be hard to argue he doesn't know what he's doing).
On top of that, Gambit is set for release next October 7th, 2016. That is less than a year away. There is no way Liman takes on a film with deadline in under a year. Any director would be crazy to do that, and considering the problems this film has already had, I'd be willing to bet Fox delays this thing until 2017. You don't need an X-Men related film coming out next year with X-Men: Apocalypse hitting in May. Give it Fantastic Four 2's June 9th, 2017 release date because there's no way that one moves forward after the reboot's awful reception this past summer. Plus, it gives any director - Liman or not - an extra 8 months to breathe in getting this thing made.
Anyway, we'll see how this all shakes out. Until then, keep your eye on the site as we'll report on any further developments on this project as it becomes available.
Source: Jeff Sneider Twitter, Deadline
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