The following contains major spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine
Even before Deadpool & Wolverine hit theaters, something that fans knew was that the new 2024 movie release was going to include a massive number of cameos. There were so many rumored stars that it was likely that they couldn’t all be true. However, some of them were, and one of the most hilarious and unexpected developments was seeing Channing Tatum appear as X-Men member Gambit.
Of course, some of you thinking to yourself, "Hey, I've watched the Marvel movies in order and don't remember Channing Tatum ever playing Gambit." After all, the other supporting actors who had cameos appeared in their respective roles on the big screen at one time or another over the past few decades. But the only time Gambit was ever on screen was when Taylor Kitsch played him in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. So what’s the deal? It’s true, you never saw Tatum play the cunning card-thrower before now, but that’s the joke.
A Gambit Movie Was Channing Tatum’s Passion Project
Back in 2014, X-Men franchise producer Simon Kinberg first mentioned wanting to do a movie based on Gambit, the popular cajun superhero, whose real name is Remy LeBeau, with the ability to charge physical objects with explosive energy. Shortly thereafter, Channing Tatum was confirmed to be in talks to play the role. In something of an episode that would mirror Ryan Reynolds' battles to get the original Deadpool made, Tatum would become a champion for the Gambit film and fight to make it happen though, for him, it would ultimately be a losing battle.
The film would remain in one form of development hell or another for the better part of a decade. There were times when it looked like Gambit was going to happen, Channing Tatum officially signed on in the summer of 2015. The film was even on Fox’s official release calendar for a while, though the release date would be continually pushed back before being removed entirely.
Unfortunately, it appears the movie took so long to develop because there was never a script everybody was happy with. The film also hit a snag due to trouble finding a director, with one after another signing on to the project before dropping it in favor of something else, likely due to production delays caused by the script. Even Tatum himself was rumored to direct when nobody else would. The same thing would happen with casting, with both Lea Seydoux and Lizzy Caplan attached as the film’s female leads at different times.
Even when the X-Men spinoff seemed to be getting positive momentum, an obstacle would stop it dead. Channing Tatum was always committed to making it happen, but there was only so much he could do. Unfortunately, with the Disney purchase of Fox in 2021, the Gambit movie was officially shelved. Tatum even admitted to being “traumatized” after losing the film.
And, while Disney’s takeover of Fox would seemingly end the possibility of a Gambit movie happening, it would be that same acquisition that would lead to Deadpool & Wolverine happening, and Channing Tatum finally getting his chance to play the X-Man.
Deadpool & Wolverine Celebrates, And Pokes Fun, At The Movie That Never Happened
In Deadpool & Wolverine, viewers meet a team of OG Marvel heroes who are living in The Void after their worlds have been destroyed. They include Dafne Keen who played X-23/Laura in Logan, Jennifer Garner who played Elektra in Daredevil and her self-titled spinoff, Wesley Snipes who played Blade in his eponymous trilogy of films, and Channing Tatum, who never played Gambit.
But then, that’s exactly the joke. Gambit has to explain who he is to Deadpool and what his powers are because he doesn’t look familiar. Even the guy who knows he's in a movie doesn't know a character who was never in one. A large portion of the audience might know who the Dog star is playing if they read X-Men comics or watched the recently rebooted X-Men animated series, as Channing Tatum’s costume is stunningly accurate to that look. But it's likely that a lot of the audience is not going to know who this guy is.
Elektra and Blade have stories about how they were taken to The Void when their worlds ended. Gambit says that he thinks he might have been born in The Void since he never had a world to inhabit. Ultimately, Elektra and Blade want their endings, while Gambit just wants a chance to do literally anything.
Even more jokes are made at the expense of Channing Tatum’s hilariously thick Cajun accent. Gambit is just short of impossible to understand when he talks. Tatum had said he was committed to playing the role with Gambit’s signature patois back when the movie was still a possibility. As far as we know, he never really found the voice, but going hard on the accent here is especially funny.
When it comes time for Deadpool and his team of misfit heroes to fight, Gambit is especially excited, as he’s never had a chance to have a fight scene. I fully expected the over enthusiastic hero to get killed in the first seconds of the fight, as a way to continue the joke of Gambit never getting his moment but, then, something wild happens. Gambit kicks some ass.
Could We Finally See A Gambit Movie?
Yes, Channing Tatum's role is played for laughs, probably significantly more than he would have been in an actual Gambit movie, However, it will be interesting to see what the response to Channing Tatum’s performance is as more people see Deadpool & Wolverine. He does get a moment to shine and, amid the fight scene, we get a brief glimpse of what action scenes in such a movie could have looked like, and they look pretty damn good honestly.
Gambit isn't seen after the battle in The Void is over, but we do see Dafne Keen as Laura at the dining table in Wade’s apartment, which indicates that she, and likely the others, have been relocated to Deadpool’s universe. So, if Gambit now exists within the Marvel Multiverse, we could certainly see him again, and perhaps we could see him in his own movie.
All it took for Deadpool to become a movie was for fans to get a glimpse of what such a film could be, and then fans wanted to see more of that. I, for one, would love to see more of Channing Tatum as Gambit. Maybe give him a better-looking costume, and I’m in.
For now, check out Deadpool & Wolverine in theaters now, and read up on upcoming Marvel movies as well.
