'Gambit' Movie Finally Happening: Producer Talks Channing Tatum 'X-Men' Spinoff

It's been a very long time since 20th Century Fox confirmed that Magic Mike actor Channing Tatum would be taking over the role of Gambit in a solo X-Men spinoff movie, but the film's production has been halted a number of times over issues behind the scenes. Finally, producer Simon Kinberg has confirmed it: the mutant movie is coming!

Days back, during the 2016 Saturn Awards, Kinberg revealed to The Hashtag Show that the Gambit movie was finally gearing up for production, "at the beginning -- or spring -- of next year," the producer specified.

He also added that Deadpool 2 would begin shooting at the beginning of 2017 and there were already plans for the next X-Men movies.

Fox has been trying to expand its X-Men universe for a while, much like Marvel Studios has with its own Cinematic Universe. Originally, the plan was to add their other beloved Marvel property, Fantastic Four, and create a new movie franchise set in the X-Men universe -- but when the 2015 reboot tanked with fans and critics alike, their hope was set elsewhere.

Earlier this year, the Ryan Reynolds-starring Deadpool gave the X-Men universe another chance, as the R-Rated superhero movie made its budget several times over in worldwide box office; at a relatively low budget of $58 million, the movie made over $780 million all over the world.

Gambit, which cast a big name like Tatum, was announced a couple of years ago, but it has met with a few problems behind the scenes and the supposed premiere in October of this year got put off indefinitely.

As Indie Wire reports, the film was supposed to be directed by Rise of the Planet of the Apes filmmaker Rupert Wyatt; soon after he left because of creative differences, Fox replaced him with Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman.

For months, it was rumored that Tatum would be part of this year's X-Men: Apocalypse, but the character was ultimately left out of the film as Fox re-introduced some of the other mutants in their rebooted universe, including Sophie Turner as Jean Grey and Olivia Munn as Psylocke.

Following the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, different studios that own comic book rights have decided to dip their toe into universes where superheroes and villains co-exist with one another, much like it has happened in the comics for decades.

As of yet, there's no official release date or cast for the Gambit movie.