Marvel's new Gambit movie has reportedly gotten a new working title. Twentieth Century Fox continues to churn out new productions based on the X-Men universe, with Deadpool 2, Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants all schedule to arrive in 2018. Gambit, which has Channing Tatum pegged to star as the title character, is currently slated for release on Valentine's Day in 2019 and has director Gore Verbinski aboard to helm the project.

For a while, the movie was in the pre-production phase under the working title "Chess", which was ostensibly a reference to the game's sacrificial opening moves known as "gambits". That made the secretive production rather easy to figure out, which may have led Fox to give Gambit a new, more ambiguous working title that is being reported as the movie scouts locations.

According to Omega Underground, the new working title for Gambit is "Forevermore". The report speculates that Fox changed the title because "Chess" had become too publicly known - a move compared to Deadpool 2's working title, which changed from "Love Machine" to "Caribbean Blue" just before the start of production. This could indicate that Gambit is also on the verge of beginning production itself.

X-Men - Gambit Deviant Art

Despite the new working title, there's still plenty of work to be done before the actual start of filming, which will reportedly take place in New Orleans. Omega Underground expects casting to "start ramping up very soon," and there are over a dozen roles still to be filled alongside Tatum. The casting call for "Mariya" could refer to Bella Donna, Gambit's partner and love interest, while "Lewis" is a role that was previously rumored to be going to Daniel Craig.

Marvel and Fox may still have their litany of casting decisions, but both Tatum and producer Simon Kinberg have previously hinted at an early 2018 start for production. The change to the working title is a good sign that Gambit is still moving along on schedule, based on the timing of Deadpool 2's updated working title. Still, there's certainly a lot that needs to happen before the cameras can start rolling.

The movie has faced some well-publicized challenges in recent years, including multiple directorial changes before seemingly settling on Verbinski. Tatum said over the summer that the project was essentially starting from scratch, and departed director Doug Liman believes it will be a tall task for Gambit to simply stand out among an always-crowded field of superhero movies. Still, with a director and star now aboard, it seems that the production is finally getting off the ground.

MORE: Deadpool Trailer Breakdown & Analysis

Source: Omega Underground

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