Editorial Staff
A few days back, it was announced that Rupert Wyatt (“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”) decided to depart his post as the director of Fox’s superhero film “Gambit”.
While one speculated that it might have something to do with a creative clash between the filmmaker and the studio – a’la the Josh Trank “Fantastic Four” situation – it’s only now that the assumption is being backed-up with solid intel.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wyatt did indeed part ways with Fox and star Channing Tatum on the Marvel blockbuster because they didn’t share the same creative vision for the film. Unlike Josh Trank on “Fantastic Four”, things weren’t horrible between the filmmaker and the star – it just wasn’t working.
This isn’t the first time Wyatt has exited a production due to a conflict with the studio, he also ditched “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”, “The Equaliser” and “Agent 13”, to name but two projects he was once onboard, before they got going too.
A source tells the trade that Wyatt is “a talent guy… he shows up. He comes early. He stays late. He’s got good ideas.” But he wasn’t able to convince Fox to go with the ideas he had for the movie so he got up and walked.
“[Wyatt is] a very gentle soul, very considerate…. I think he’s a very principled guy. He wants to make the best version of something, and he’s so desperately afraid of making something not good that it’s easier to walk away than be pushed by committee… Many have ended up in director’s jail when they didn’t walk away, and perhaps they should have.”
Wyatt is indeed working on Paramount’s “Goliath”.
