Fox has nabbed Rupert Wyatt, who helmed the franchise-restoring Rise of the Planet of The Apes, to direct the X-Men spin-off film Gambit, which will star Channing Tatum as the Cajun mutant (see “Channing Tatum Confirmed as Gambit”).  Gambit (aka Remy LeBeau) has made a previous on screen appearance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine in 2009 when he was played by Taylor Kitsch, but this will be his first solo effort.

Entertainment Weekly broke the news that Wyatt, who directed the British prison escape thriller The Escapist in 2008 before being tabbed to reboot the PotA franchise with Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011).  Wyatt brought a new level of realism to the PotA series by using motion capture techniques, and salvaged a franchise that had been slipping into the artistic morass that is “camp” for years.

Wyatt has only directed two feature films, but at least they have both been good, and his PotA stint shows he can handle a big special effects-heavy movie spectacle.  The Gambit film is slated for release on October 7, 2016 (see “Best in Shows Index” for a complete listing of all the geek films in the pipe).