While the X-Men film franchise moves forward with projects like X-Men: Apocalypse, Deadpool and a rumored live-action TV show, one aspect of the series have been relatively quiet recently. Back in May, reports indicated that Channing Tatum would play Gambit in a standalone movie, the actor repeatedly expressing his interest in playing the Ragin’ Cajun. But it many be years before we actually get to see his take on the character.
When asked by MTV recently if there was any movement on the Gambit front, Tatum said they’re still finding a writer, and that the project is coming along slowly. The main issue is creating a unique way to present the character. Said Tatum:
"I don’t want to give too much away because we don’t know that much right now other than who Gambit is. We really do want to try our hardest to give something fresh. We’re obviously going to go to the saving the world superhero movies eventually, but not for the first one."
Although he’s one of the more popular X-Men, thanks in no small part to the ‘90s animated series, Gambit hasn’t had great luck in live-action. After being cut from X-Men: The Last Stand, he made his big screen debut in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, played by Taylor Kitsch. Despite slipping in and out of the New Orleans accent, Kitsch did a decent job as Gambit, but in a movie that was largely panned by fans and critics, his Gambit will forever have that negative stigma attached. With the X-Men timeline reset after X-Men: Days of Future Past, now is the right time to bring the card-throwing mutant back, but with Fox’s other mutant projects, it will be awhile before those cards get thrown. Judging by Tatum’s comments, it sounds like there are ideas for multiple Gambit films. Perhaps Rogue would be involved with one of those?
At one point, director Bryan Singer speculated that Gambit could show up in X-Men: Apocalypse , but it doesn’t sound like that’s the case anymore. That’s probably for the best. Gambit is an interesting enough character that his origin doesn’t need to be overshadowed by other mutants. However, if they wanted to prep audiences for him, similar to what Warner Bros. is doing for Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, they could add him as a supporting character who helps fight Apocalypse. Then, in the solo film, his origin could be explored through flashbacks while he deals with a threat in the present day... or the ‘80s. depending on how all of the timeline stuff works out.
