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What Happened To Channing Tatum's X-Men Movie Gambit From Nearly A Decade Ago? Explored
Channing Tatum's Gambit makes a surprise appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine, donning his comic-accurate suit and delivering witty lines. Below is why his solo film never materialized.
Despite being cast as Gambit 10 years ago, Channing Tatum got to live the character on screen in 2024 as he made one of the most shocking cameos in Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s Deadpool & Wolverine.
The character was played by Taylor Kitsch many, many years ago. However, as soon as a Tatum-led solo project focusing on the character was announced at Fox in 2014, a series of events pushed it into developmental hell.
Here’s what happened to Channing Tatum’s Gambit movie from a decade ago
After Tatum was announced to lead a Gambit solo movie in 2014, X-Men franchise producer Lauren Shuler Donner told Total Film that she was excited about the prospect of the actor bringing the mutant to life, saying, “He’s a rascal, just like Remy LeBeau (Gambit)…I think he’ll be great for Gambit.” Tatum, for his part, also praised his potential role, telling MTV, “Gambit is the only X-Man I’ve ever loved.”
In 2023, however, the Magic Mike actor painfully commented on why his Gambit movie never got made. Fox had many X-Men projects in the pipeline when the company was bought by Marvel Studios’s parent company, Disney. Following the development, Marvel’s Kevin Feige became responsible for overseeing all X-Men movies, including Tatum’s Gambit, which, per the actor, “got swallowed up” by the mouse house. Tatum also revealed that his team contacted Marvel occasionally about the possibility of getting the movie off the ground before he decided to spiritually, emotionally, and mentally let it go.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes director Rupert Wyatt was roped in to helm Tatum’s Gambit movie in 2015, according to Screenrant, with Léa Seydoux set to play Bella Donna Boudreaux, Remy LeBeau’s leading lady in the comic book. Wyatt, nonetheless, quit the project.
After him, Mr. & Mrs. Smith’s Doug Liman came on board, only to follow in Wyatt’s footsteps. Pirates of the Caribbean franchise director Gore Verbinski then joined the project, again only to exit it.
Bottom line: both Gambit and Tatum had to make do with the shorter end of the stick in the latest Deadpool movie, which opened in theaters today, July 26. Tatum, however, used his limited screen time to his full potential. Continue reading to delve into his cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine, or opt for a quick exit if spoilers are a plague equivalent to you at the moment.
Exploring Channing Tatum’s cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine
The actor looked like he was enjoying his part in the film, with his version of Gambit wearing an illustration-based costume and Remy’s thick Cajun accent. Tatum delivered multiple one-liners, many of which were a dig at his aforementioned sacked project.
At the end of the film, Deadpool asks TVA to get the surviving members of the Resistance out of The Void, but Gambit doesn't make an appearance in the real verse, leaving his fate in future Marvel projects hanging in the air.
ALSO READ: Every Major Cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine from Chris Evans to Henry Cavill
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