Channing Tatum Hot for Doug Liman as ‘Gambit’ Director

No longer content to simply be America’s favorite dancin’ man, extremely handsome actor Channing Tatum has recently gotten involved behind the camera as well. One of the last few holdouts to have not yet appeared in a superhero flick, Tatum has been working to engineer a spandex-clad vehicle for himself for some time now, stepping in as both producer and star of a solo spin-off film focused on the X-Men‘s Gambit. A slick-talking Cajun who grew up picking pockets on the mean streets of New Orleans (where, as we all already knew, C-Tates co-owns a bar, making him perfect for the role), the mutant born Remy LeBeau possesses the ability to supercharge inanimate objects with glowing kinetic energy and make them explode on his command, favoring playing cards as his weapon of choice. Sure-thing smash that that may appear, Tatum’s had some troubles getting his passion project off the ground.

Just last month, director Rupert Wyatt parted ways with the project due to unspecified disputes, though rumors have continued to swirl that studio heads clashed with Wyatt’s creative vision for the film. That’s left producer Tatum to scramble and secure a worthy replacement in the meantime, and The Wrap’s Jeff Sneider purports to have the inside scoop on who Tatum’s eyeing to fill the director’s chair. The filmmaker with the distinct privilege of being eyed by Channing Tatum happens to be one Doug Liman, most recently at the head of the deservedly beloved Edge of Tomorrow, a.k.a. Live. Die. Repeat. 

Liman’s currently tied up with Tom Cruise, helming his Edge star’s new drug thriller Mena and partnering again with Cruise for the long-simmering sci-fi project Luna Park. The 140 characters of Sneider’s tweet couldn’t squeeze in a specification on whether Liman will put these project on the back burner to pursue Chanbit, or if the ChanMan will be forced to wait his turn like everyone else. All that’s known for sure at the present is that Tatum’s still on board, and that’s a hell of a place to start courting directors.