Channing Tatum made a surprise guest appearance at the San Diego Comic-Con a few weeks back to help promote Gambit during the panels for Fox’s Deadpool and X-Men: Apocalypse. Unfortunately he was unable to bring any footage, for the film was scheduled to start shooting later this fall for an October 2016 release. But the studio was able to reveal the title card, which took the form of a playing card of all things. On all accounts it looked like there wasn’t any pre-production trouble.

But now a new report says that Tatum may want out of Gambit, but it’s not quite for the reasons you may think of. More on the story below.

The Wrap reports that Tatum’s Gambit deal is falling apart, and that the actor may want out of his contract to pursue other interests. More on that later. The site adds that director Rupert Wyatt has been testing young actresses to star opposite Tatum in the upcoming film. Lea Seydoux (Skyfall, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) is just one of the actresses to test for the mysterious role, but Wyatt may have to find another leading man.

Tatum had expressed interest in playing the Ragin’ Cajun back in 2013, with X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner sharing his sentiment. Soon enough, Donner confirmed Tatum would play as Gambit. The film was scheduled to shoot in the fall for an October 7, 2016 release.

RoboCop scribe Josh Zetumer is tapped to write the screenplay based on a treatment penned by Chris Claremont. It’s not exactly clear why Tatum may be considering dropping out of Gambit, but the site believes that Tatum has other passion projects and ambitions that he wants to pursue, one of which is making his debut as a film director. Tatum is also attached to star and produce 23 Jump Street.

Should he stay, everything stays on course for Fox. However, should he leave, Fox must find someone to act as his replacement before the start date or risk putting the movie on hiatus until they get everything in order. Sources close to the project say that Tatum’s reps are still talking with the studio, but admit “something is up.”

Neither Tatum or Fox were available to comment on the matter.

It’s also unclear if Tatum and his Free Association partner Reid Carolin will stay on as producers if the actor drops out of the project. No matter the decision, Donner and Simon Kinberg will stay on as producers.

[Source: The Wrap]