Director Doug Liman Explains Why He Left The GAMBIT Movie

Art by BossLogic

Oh, Gambit. You've been wanting so badly to be a real movie but you just keep getting pushed back. There was one point it was set to be released last year, but difficulties arose with the director, Doug Liman, that made it difficult to proceed. Although Channing Tatum is still interested in making the movie, many people wondered why Liman left.

Liman was attached to direct the film for quite some time but eventually left to go work on Justice League Dark for DC. Recently, while promoting The Wall, also directed by Liman, he gave some insight as to why he left Gambit in an interview with We Got This Covered, saying:

"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."

I'm torn on this explanation. Part of me thinks this sounds like a cop-out, but the other part of me totally understands what he means. You have to find something that connects you to your work, otherwise, it doesn't feel right. I think if he doesn't think he can do it justice, it's smart to back away. Which just leads me to ask, however, what connection is he supposed to find in Justice League Dark? He recently talked about his take on Justice League Dark here.