'X-Men' producer on 'Gambit' delays: 'It takes honing'

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Aug. 8 (UPI) -- X-Men producer Simon Kinberg gave an explanation for Gambit's repeated delays.

The 43-year-old writer and producer told Slash Film at the Television Critics Association press tour that he and his team are working to perfect the long-gestating solo film.

"I think the truth is when you have these movies that need a very special and unique tone, it takes a little while to find that tone," he explained.

Kinberg, who has written and/or produced four X-Men movies, compared Gambit's delays to Deadpool, which he also produced. Deadpool opened in February after 10 years of development and was a box office hit, earning $760 million.

"I hope that Gambit doesn't take 10 years, but it takes a little honing to get that tone and that voice exactly right," he said. "The character has such a specific voice in the comic ... [like Deadpool] ... that we want to make sure that we capture that voice on the page."

"Really it's just about getting a screenplay that is worth of that character and I think we're really close now," he teased.

Gambit, starring Channing Tatum, was pushed back in the spring from October to an unspecified release date. Kinberg said in July that he hopes to begin production in early 2017.

"We have a great script on that and hope to shoot that movie at the beginning -- or spring -- of next year," he told That Hashtag Show at the 2016 Saturn Awards.