A ‘Gambit’ Movie Is Still In The Works, But Here’s Why Doug Liman Bailed
By Ben Pearson/May 8, 2017 1:30 pm EST
Doug Liman, the man who directed The Bourne Identity, was once in the director’s chair for a Gambit movie, but thanks to a new interview, we now know why he ultimately walked away from it.
Liman sounds like a man of principle, which is nice to hear in an industry that’s often bereft of them. We know he’ll be keeping busy with the Edge of Tomorrow sequel (which just received a truly insane title), and I think any true Gambit fan would much rather he tap out early than to create a Gambit movie that lacks the passion of a personal connection. And since the film is apparently still happening, hopefully someone else will be able to step in and do the character justice.
“I look for a personal connection to the movies I make and it may not be immediately obvious. You know, like what’s my connection to Jason Bourne? I have a deeply personal connection to that movie because it’s all about Iran-Contra and my father ran the investigations into Iran-Contra. In every story I have a personal connection. The Wall, you’d be like what could this filmmaker from New York possibly have in common with these two soldiers pinned down in Iraq? But The Wall is really about perseverance. It’s about picking yourself up and you just keep going and that’s something I have firsthand experience with. Not in war but in other aspects of life. With Gambit, I just never found that personal way in. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t.”
My introduction to Marvel characters wasn’t in the pages of comic books, but with Fox’s popular animated shows that were a staple of the Saturday morning cartoon block in the ’90s. Spider-Man: The Animated Series was a favorite, but just as formative in my early geek days was X-Men, which dealt with some pretty heavy subject matter for a kids’ series right from the start. (Remember Morph? He was killed during the two-part pilot.) Those who grew up watching that show have a special affection for the quick-witted card thrower who, from my understanding, was a far cooler character on the show than he was in the comics around that time.
Who would you like to see direct a Gambit movie?
