A new rumor suggests that Candra will be Gambit's main villain, following news that the comic book movie is finally moving forward. The film has been stuck in development hell ever since the character, Remy LeBeau, made his live-action debut in Gavin Hood's X-Men Origins: Wolverine in 2009, played by Taylor Kitsch. The actor was eventually replaced with Channing Tatum, with Rise of the Planet of the Apes director Rupert Wyatt later joining at the helm of the planned spinoff movie.
Wyatt ended up dropping the project in 2016 due to scheduling issues, with Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman replacing him shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, Liman also exited the movie for similar reasons, though he later admitted that his reason for dropping the project was because he was unable to form a personal connection with the story. Although Gambit has seen its fair share of delays, the movie is finally moving forward with Pirates of the Caribbean's Gore Verbinski signed on to direct. And as it turns out, the creative team already has a villain in mind for the movie.
Omega Underground reports that the telepathic supervillain Candra will be the Gambit movie's big bad. The character is one of the comic universe's Externals, and in addition to being one of the universe's strongest telepaths, she's virtually immortal. Although she has fought many mutants over the years, her history is closely tied with Gambit's. After all, she made her debut appearance in Gambit #1 in 1993, thus making her the prime candidate for taking on the Ragin' Cajun in his first solo movie.
The report hasn't been confirmed nor denied yet, but considering that the movie is scheduled to release in February 2019, it will need to go into production relatively soon, which means we should get some real casting news soon. Aside from Tatum, the only person who has been previously confirmed to appear in the movie is Léa Seydoux, who reportedly joined the movie as Bella Donna Boudreaux - though it's possible that Seydoux is no longer attached to the project considering how much time has passed. What's interesting, however, is that Remy's relationship with Bella Donna is closely intertwined with the Assassins' Guild, an organization that Candra is also involved with.
Apart from the newest report, a recent rumor suggested that 20th Century Fox was eyeing Daniel Craig for Nathaniel Essex, aka Mister Sinister, one of the mutants' biggest villains from the comics. The character was first teased in the post-credits scene for Bryan Singer's X-Men: Apocalypse, with the intentin of him appearing in a future movie. The news was quickly refuted, so it's possible Candra could take Mister Sinister's rumored position as Gambit's big bad.
Source: Omega Underground
