(Image courtesy of Marvel Studios)
Long before the rights to the X-Men franchise returned to Marvel Studios, Channing Tatum spent years trying to get a "Gambit" spinoff off the ground. The troubled project cycled through several filmmakers, including "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" director Rupert Wyatt, "The Bourne Identity" helmer Doug Liman and "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy director Gore Verbinski. Each eventually walked away. Tatum even considered directing the movie himself before backing down, and the project was ultimately scrapped after the rights changed hands.
(Image courtesy of Marvel Studios)
Fortunately, Tatum eventually got to play Gambit in a supporting role in "Deadpool & Wolverine" and the upcoming "Avengers: Doomsday," partially fulfilling his longtime dream. While promoting "Avengers: Doomsday," the actor was once again asked why he abandoned plans to direct the solo movie — and for the first time, he candidly explained his decision.
Tatum first broke down the project’s turbulent history with its directors: “We had three different directors signed at different points. The first one had a falling-out with the studio, so that fell apart. With the second, we had spent so long developing the project with someone else that I finally had to step in and say, ‘We need to get this movie moving.’ So we parted ways. Then, with the third director, Gore Verbinski, we came incredibly close to filming. At first, all three sides — the studio, Gore and me — were creatively aligned. But as the project evolved, we ultimately went our separate ways again.”
Tatum then revealed why he eventually backed away from directing the film himself: “Now I fully understand what directors do and how complicated the job is. I also know just how difficult it is to make a movie like this. You really have to know what you’re doing. This absolutely cannot be the first movie you direct. You need to master a lot of different skills and have a tremendous amount of experience, because making this kind of film is almost impossible. Some people figure it out and know exactly how to do it, while others really struggle. For me, it would have been a disaster — so bad that my career might never have recovered.”
Tatum added that he still wants another opportunity to play Gambit and continues to lobby Marvel for a potential movie someday. His only condition is that the project must first secure a truly great director.
via： Screen Rant