Gambit: Rupert Wyatt drops out of Channing Tatum-starring superhero movie

Channing Tatum’s Gambit was just dealt a bad hand. Rise of the Planet of the Apes filmmaker Rupert Wyatt has left the project, which is set to star Tatum as the fan favorite character who eventually becomes part of the X-Men team in comic book lore.

Tatum has long been enthusiastic about playing the Southern charmer, who can charge objects with energy to render them explosive — his favorite weapon is a deck of playing cards. But Wyatt’s departure, which EW confirmed Wednesday, marks an unfortunate setback for the production. Deadline first reported the news.

Gambit is scheduled for release from Fox on Oct. 7, 2016, with production set to begin in early spring. A new director is expected to be named shortly.

Tatum will produce Gambit along with Reid Carolin, Lauren Shuler Donner, and Simon Kinberg. The Magic Mike actor will next be seen in Quentin Tarantino’s hard-bitten Western, The Hateful Eight, set to arrive Christmas Day.

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•Portrait of an evolving superhero universe: X-Men, Deadpool, Fantastic Four, Gambit and Wolverine