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Channing Tatum has closed a deal to star in Gambit, 20th Century Fox’s X-Men spin-off movie.

The move, which was widely expected, contradicts reports that appeared last week suggesting the actor would exit the project after failing to come to terms with Fox.

Sources say that Tatum and the studio did hit a sensitive spot in negotiations, but such back-and-forth is a normal part of top-level talent dealmaking. The Magic Mike star's participation hardly was in any real danger because the actor already had invested quite a bit in the superhero part. Tatum has been attached to the movie (loosely then officially) as both actor and producer for a few years and even made a surprise appearance at Fox’s X-Men panel at Comic-Con in July.

One thing that needed figuring out was the extent of Tatum’s involvement in the X-Men universe. Fox sees Tatum’s Gambit, a mutant who harnesses kinetic energy, as one of the anchor characters of the X-universe, akin to Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, someone who would anchor his own movies and appear in numerous others. It’s a commitment that could theoretically last more than a decade. (Jackman has been portraying Wolverine since 2000, for instance.)

Sources say that backend compensation was also a sticking point.

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Lea Seydoux, Rebecca Ferguson and Abbey Lee are said to be on the short list to play Bella Donna Boudreaux in 20th Century Fox’s Gambit Late last month, word broke that negotiations appeared…

http://www.superherohype.com/news/34...lead-in-gambit

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EXCLUSIVE: Lea Seydoux has the offer to star alongside Channing Tatum in Fox’s Rupert Wyatt-directed X-Men spinoff Gambit. This was a hotly contested job for the role of Belladonna Boudreaux aka Bella. As Deadline was first to reveal, the studio had a shortlist with Seydoux, Mad Max: Fury Road‘s Abbey Lee and Rebecca Ferguson of Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. They were set to test, and then Ferguson dropped out to take one of the leads in DreamWorks’ adaptation of The Girl On The Train.

Now, the role in Gambit will go to Seydoux, who moved from the racy Cannes sensation Blue Is The Warmest Color to the 007 film Spectre. In X-Men lore, Bella was Gambit’s love since childhood, but eventually she gained powers of her own and became head of the Assassins Guild. Gambit, aka Remy LeBeau, was head of the Thieves Guild. The French actress is repped by WME, United Agents and Agence Adequat.

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Director Rupert Wyatt has fallen off Gambit, the Channing Tatum X-Men spinoff being made by Fox.

The movie project in an important one for the studio, which is hoping that it launches onto the screen as an important character as Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, one of the lynchpins of the X-Men universe.

“I was very much looking forward to working with my friend Channing and the team at Fox, but regrettably a push in the start date now conflicts with another project," said Wyatt in a statement. "I thank them for the opportunity, and I know that Gambit will make a terrific film.”

Script issues have caused the film's budget to be larger than expected and prompting the exit, a source told The Hollywood Reporter.

Josh Zetumer penned the script for the film, based on a treatment by Gambit co-creator Chris Claremont. Tatum, Reid Carolin, Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg are producing.

Wyatt also directed Rise of the Planet of the Apes for Fox.

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