Does anyone else remember when Channing Tatum was supposed to play Gambit? Maybe not, but the disappointing thing about this is that this was something in the works for a while. Heck, the guy even made an appearance at Comic-Con with all the major Fox-owned characters in the original X-Men universe. That is something that ended shortly after the merge with Disney happened. And in a recent interview with Variety, Channing Tatum revealed that the movie was ready to go, but on the way to literally begin filming, they got the call. The Gambit movie wasn’t going to happen, despite the crew preparing to begin filming in New Orleans. Needless to say, that is disappointing, but that’s not even close to what Channing Tatum felt after the cancellation of the Gambit movie. In his own words, he was actually traumatized from the whole experience and it was so severe that he couldn’t even bring himself to watch any Marvel movies. Whoa, now those are some heavy words over a movie. For this guy to actually get the part of Gambit, make appearances at comic panels, and on top of that, he actually spearheaded the project, only for all of it to fall apart just like that. Yeah, I’d say he has a pretty good reason to be upset about it.
I can see many people saying that he’s overreacting about being traumatized about it. However, as someone who has worked on several small film projects and seeing them fall apart, I get where he’s coming from. When you put in months of hard work on something you’re confident will happen, you really expect it to turn out well. But then, it doesn’t turn out well, because it just doesn’t happen at all. That’s months of hard work you feel like gets washed down the toilet and it will hurt your spirits. That’s probably how Channing Tatum felt after the Gambit movie fell apart and we can’t blame him. Heck, we can’t even blame Disney. The Gambit movie didn’t happen because Disney bought out Fox and they just didn’t feel like a solo movie for the character would work. Were they right? I’m kind of torn on this, because on one hand, I would love to see Gambit on the big-screen again. No disrespect to Taylor Kitsch; I actually dug his take on the card-throwing Cajun. He had the suave, the dangerous sex appeal, and the unapologetic confidence that makes Gambit cool. But, much like most of the cast of that movie, he didn’t really get a chance to show us what he could do as the character. He had a brief moment in the spotlight, and then he was just kind of there.
That was disappointing, but that’s okay, because Channing Tatum was going to play Gambit in a solo movie for Fox. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t get that either. It’s kind of like that origins movie of Magneto we were supposed to get, but never did. But unlike the would-be Magneto movie, the Gambit movie was in motion for the production stage. As Channing Tatum explained in his interview with Variety, they had a production office set up in New Orleans, a whole crew ready to go, and a very enthusiastic leading man prepared to play the titular character. All of this, and the Gambit movie never happened. Who wouldn’t be disappointed? Now I know fans will debate on whether or not Channing Tatum is a good fit for Gambit. However, I’d rather talk about the idea of Gambit getting his own movie. How would it work? I suppose it would’ve told the story of Remy LeBeau from his beginnings in the Thieves Guild, to his possible inclusion in the X-Men. Or maybe it would’ve set up his romance with Rogue? The funny thing is, Channing Tatum actually revealed the idea they had in mind for the movie. According to him, they wanted to make it a romantic comedy superhero movie. He even used Deadpool as a reference.
But Deadpool isn’t a romantic comedy, right? Lies. The Merc with a Mouth specifically said during the narration that his movie was about love. And he was right. He met a great woman, fell in love with her, then got diagnosed with a terminal illness, decided to undergo a risky procedure so he could be with her, and then he turned into a disfigured freak with accelerated healing. But you know what? He ended up winning her back in the end. And she accepted him for the way he looked. If that’s not love, then I don’t know what is. Could the Gambit movie give us a love story in a similar manner? Okay, maybe not, but then again, Channing Tatum has that Magic Mike essence he could’ve brought to the Gambit role. If he was going to try to make any woman fall in love with him, he probably would have succeeded. So if this movie did happen, I would’ve seen it out of curiosity, rather than excitement. The thing is, I still wonder if Channing Tatum will one day get the chance to finish what he started. This was clearly a passion project for him and it’s a shame he never got to see it happen. However, even if the Gambit movie never happens, I think it’s safe to say we’ll still see him in the future.
And now we get to the whole X-Men joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe conversation. We know it will happen eventually and when it does, we’ll most likely see Gambit. It’s just a matter of Marvel wanting Channing Tatum to officially take on the role. Honestly, I don’t think they will. Casting Channing Tatum would have worked better when he was the leading man, but I predict Marvel will look for a less popular actor to play the Cajun hero. That’s just my theory, but for all I know, Kevin Feige already has the Magic Mike star in mind. I do sympathize with Channing Tatum, but I also believe there are other actors out there better suited for the role. If he does get the chance, then good for him. I am curious to see what he’ll be like as Gambit, so I kinda want this to happen. Only time will tell if he does get the role, but let’s just hope it’s for the next X-Men movie. There’s no need for a solo Gambit movie at this point.Channing Tatum
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