20th Century Fox has hired RoboCop co-writer Josh Zetumer to write the script for Gambit, the “X-Men” spinoff that has Channing Tatum attached to star. Tatum will also produce with his Free Association partner Reid Carolin, The Donners Company’s Lauren Shuler Donner, and Genre Films’ Simon Kinberg. Zetumer’s script will be based on a treatment by Chris Claremont.
Created by Claremont and Jim Lee in 1990, the New Orleans native mutant quickly became a fan favorite due to his kinetic energy manipulation abilities and penchant for stealing. The character’s only big screen appearance to date (outside his name being featured as an Easter egg in X2) was in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, played by Taylor Kitsch.
The studio has not yet set a release date for the film, though Gambit is expected to follow the character’s debut in 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse.