Apparently, Gambit has 99 problems, but Rogue ain’t one — which totally blows. Following the news that Rise of the Planet of the Apes director Rupert Wyatt dropped out of the solo Gambit film for Fox, Anna Paquin has come out to confirm that she will not be reprising her role in the film. Talk about a missed opportunity.
Paquin, who portrays Rogue in the X-Men films and appeared briefly in the theatrical cut of Days of Future Past, revealed the news on Twitter. User Gerard Skeleton (@ChargeTheCards) asked if the actress would appear in Gambit, to which to responded with the simplest of answers.
In the comics and the animated X-Men TV series, Gambit and Rogue had a very tumultuous and tragic relationship. The card-slinging mutant was smitten by her, though they could never be intimate, thanks to her power- and life-essence-absorbing abilities. The film adaptations replaced Gambit with Shawn Ashmore’s Iceman as her love interest beginning in 2000’s X-Men, and the complications with her powers were explored somewhat in X2 and briefly in The Last Stand.
Given how different Rogue is from the comics, it’s not too surprising that Paquin won’t play a major part in Gambit’s life. But it still comes as a disappointment.
Channing Tatum is set to star as Remy LeBeau, a mutant with the ability to transform potential energy into kinetic energy. Aside from his combat staff, his most frequent use of this ability is charging up decks of cards with explosive energy and throwing them like grenades. Taylor Kitsch first portrayed the character on screen opposite Hugh Jackman in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Considering that recasting characters is now a thing in this cinematic universe — Tatum replaced Kitch, actor Andre Tricoteux is replacing Daniel Cudmore as Colossus in Deadpool, and younger actors have come in to replace core X-Men members in the upcoming Apocalypse — it is possible that Rogue could still be a part of Gambit with a different actress in the role. Though, that would seem a bit farfetched.
As for Anna Paquin, though she appeared for a split second at the end of Days of Future Past, director Bryan Singer released a Rogue Cut of the film and revealed her scenes that were deleted. They featured future Magneto and Iceman breaking Rogue out from a facility after Kitty is accidentally injured by Wolverine.
