8 Aug – Even though there was a moment of "will he, won't he" when rumours of Channing Tatum leaving "Gambit" sparked recently, looks like all is going well for the "X-Men" spinoff as it is now looking at three actresses to star opposite Tatum's Gambit as Belladonna Boudreaux aka Bella. Rebecca Ferguson, Lea Seydoux and Abbey Lee have been shortlisted to test as the character next week, according to Deadline. Ferguson, the 31-year-old Swedish actress, can currently be seen on the big screen starring opposite Tom Cruise in "Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation" while 30-year-old French actress Seydoux is expected to make an appearance next as one of the Bond girls in this year's "James Bond: Spectre". 28-year-old Australian model Abbey Lee may have the shortest acting resume among the candidates, but she did get the chance to show off her acting chops as one of the wives, The Dag specifically, in "Mad Max: Fury Road".
Seydoux, not really a stranger to the name Bella as she did star as Belle in "La belle et la bête", was the first of the trio who was reportedly considered for the lead role, but with Ferguson now receiving rave reviews for her performance in "Mission: Impossible" and Abbey Lee also vying for more acting chances, there's no predicting who will eventually win the role. In the "X-Men" story, Gambit aka Remy Etienne LeBeau met Bella when they were children, not knowing that they came from rival Guilds – Thieves and Assassins. When they grew older, their fathers arranged a marriage between the two, hoping it would bring unity and peace. However, a backlash from Bella's brother ended up with Gambit killing him and Gambit decided to make his own choices in life after getting exiled from New Orleans. "Gambit", directed by Rupert Wyatt, sneaks into cinemas in October 2016. (Photo source: Loucos & Santos)