by: S. Scott Stanikmas – Senior Staff Writer

The Gambit ship is currently a rudderless one. After director Rupert Wyatt left due to “scheduling conflicts” (othe sources claim the director wasn’t going to get to realize his vision), Marvel and FOX’s movie about the popular Cajun mutant was left floating adrift.

The movie still doesn’t have an official director, but according to some sources the studio at least has a name in mind. And that name is Doug Liman.

Deadline mentioned it in passing and The Wrap’s Jeff Sneider tweeted about it. While it’s not a done deal, Liman is FOX’s leading choice.

The film is already in a state of disarray. Originally slated for an October 2016 release, Gambit was scheduled to start filming this month. Now production has been pushed back to spring 2016 with no concrete release date in mind (it’s unlikely the October 2016 date is still on FOX’s mind, but no other news has come out on that end).

The character Gambit was reportedly supposed to replace the departing Wolverine, whom Hugh Jackman has been playing in the X-Men universe of films since the first one came out a decade and a half ago. Jackman’s departure means the studio needs another anchor character that fans can hold on to throughout the myriad of mutant films that FOX might have ideas for after X-Men: Apocalypse and the third solo Wolverine film.

Channing Tatum is still attached to play Remy LeBeau, a.k.a. Gambit, the mutant with the pyrokinetic abilities. Lea Seydoux is still on board to play his love interest Bella Donna Boudreaux. But with both actors possibly promised to other projects this film could get pushed back even further.

True that Channing Tatum has been courting Doug Liman to direct GAMBIT. We’ll see if he goes for it though…

— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) October 18, 2015