Director Rupert Wyatt Walks Away From ‘Gambit’
By Russ Fischer/Sept. 16, 2015 3:15 pm EST
Deadline has the first report, but it is THR which reports that script issues led to budget problems, which in turn led to Wyatt’s exit. Reading between the lines we don’t know if the script and budget issue is delaying the film, but that’s what seems to be the case. Perhaps there was a scheduling issue for Wyatt which led to his departure.
Update: Since our first publication, THR updated its piece with a quote from Wyatt who indeed blames scheduling issues for his departure:
Gambit has been inching towards a shoot date, with our last report pegging the shoot happening this fall. But Deadline is now saying a Louisiana shoot was set for spring 2016. If that’s correct, that means the script issues are incurring a significant delay.
I was very much looking forward to working with my friend Channing and the team at Fox, but regrettably a push in the start date now conflicts with another project. I thank them for the opportunity, and I know that Gambit will make a terrific film.
The current script is by Josh Zetumer, based on a treatment by Gambit co-creator Chris Claremont. Gambit features Channing Tatum, Reid Carolin, Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg as producers.
Gambit is also set to star Lea Seydoux as a lead character opposite Tatum, but we’ll see what this complication does to that deal. This film seems to be a tricky proposition, with rumors dogging the movie for a few months.
