Why Marvel's Former Ant-Man Director Edgar Wright Turned Down A Huge X-Men Movie

Long before Dwayne Johnson convinced Hollywood that DC's Black Adam needed a solo film, Channing Tatum attempted to convince Hollywood that Marvel's Gambit needed much the same. Despite Tatum's enthusiasm and a substantial amount of media coverage, the on-again, off-again member of the X-Men never got his own picture. During a 2022 interview with Variety, Tatum admitted that one of 20th Century Studios' issues with his pitch was that they didn't want Tatum attached to direct. "The studio really didn't want us to direct it," he said. "They wanted anybody but us, essentially, because we had never directed anything."

One of the more seasoned directors considered for "Gambit" was Edgar Wright, but the artist behind "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" wasn't interested in tackling the project. During a 2023 interview with /Film, he explained that he believed the movie required a director who was more passionate about the material. "Gambit wasn't a character I knew too well," said Wright. "He appeared after my time reading Marvels — roughly 1985 to 1990 or so. [He] wasn't one that I knew a lot about and hadn't really read growing up, so it felt like it was someone else's dream gig. Maybe he means more to people who watched the [animated] show? Which again, was after my time."

Edgar Wright isn't the kind of director who turns down superhero work on principle. Aside from co-writing and directing "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," he co-wrote and was set to direct "Ant-Man" before a falling out with Marvel. The director told Variety in 2017 that what really happened behind the scenes on "Ant-Man" was, while he was interested in making a Marvel movie, Marvel wasn't interested in making a Wright movie. He also mentioned that emotional investment was crucial to his creative process and that if it's lacking, "you start to wonder why you're there, really." Whether it's 2017 or 2023, Wright's messaging is the same — if the project is close to his heart, he will follow through. If it strays, it's better off in someone else's hands.

Wright's disinterest in Gambit must extend to the rest of the X-Men because Simon Kinberg has been trying to rope him into a superhero film for years. During a 2023 interview with /Film, Kinberg said, "He's one of my favorite directors of all time and one of my favorite people, just a super great guy. Obviously a cinephile ... I've chased Edgar for 'X-Men' movies. I've chased him for literally every possible thing. We have talked about every movie."  Despite Kinberg's pressure, Wright has never worked on an X-Men film.

Static owns and operates Looper and /Film.