English director Rupert Wyatt has recently been chosen by 20th Century Fox to direct the upcoming film "Gambit', which will star Channing Tatum as the titular character Remy LeBeau, Entertainment Weekly has reported.
The "X-Men' solo film project remains to be one of the studio's top priorities and has been set for a release date on Oct. 7, 2016.
Wyatt is widely recognized for bringing back the "Planet of the Apes' franchise to life with his "Rise of the Planet of the Apes' movie released in 2011. He also directed last year's "The Gambler', which corresponds to the story behind Gambit's fondness of playing cards.
Other high-profile directors, such as Bennett Miller and Darren Aronofsky, were reportedly tapped for the project but were not considered.
With a script written by Josh Zetumer, "Gambit' is being produced by Tatum, Reid Carolin, Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg.
Gambit is one of the more recently developed X-characters, created by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee in 1990. He immediately became a fan favorite despite being a thief and comes from New Orleans, speaking with a Cajun accent.
In an interview with Tatum about portraying the well-known character, he described the movie as an unusual origin story. He also described Gambit himself as: "kind of a tortured soul and he's not a good guy. But he's not a bad guy, either. He walks his own path. And of course he plays cards and drinks and is a martial-arts badass!"
"Gambit' is set for an official release on Oct. 7, 2016.
While there have been no official details regarding its plot, there have been ample information about the highly-anticipated "X-Men: Apocalypse' movie, which is said to be the conclusion of a trilogy that began with "First Class' and continued with "X-Men: Days of Future Past.'
The story will be set in the "80s, complete with pastel-colored clothes, extravagant hair and a video game arcade.
James McAvoy (Professor X), Michael Fassbender (Magneto), Nicholas Hoult (Beast) and Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique) will lead the cast while more newcomers have signed on.
These include Tye Sheridan as Cyclops, Olivia Munn as Psylocke, Lana Condor as Jubilee, Ben Hardy as Angel, Sophie Turner as Jean Grey and Alexandra Shipp as Storm.
Lucas Till will also reprise his role as Havok while Rose Byrne will make a comeback as Moira McTaggert.
As confirmed by writer and producer Simon Kinberg, "Apocalypse' will shed light on major changes for the mutant-superhero universe. Because it continues on from "Days of Future Past', the new installment is expected to have a crossover to related films which are currently being developed, such as "Gambit' and "Deadpool.'
"X-Men: Apocalypse' has been set to make its debut May 27, 2016.
