As far as Marvel comic characters go, there are few quite as beloved as the X-Men. The mutants were on the big screen years before superhero flicks became commonplace, although fans are eagerly anticipating their upcoming entrance into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And while his movie sat in development hell for years before being scrapped, Deadpool 3 fan art has transformed Channing Tatum into the favorite mutant Gambit.
Channing Tatum was attached to play Gambit in his own movie for a number of years, before Disney acquired 20th Century Fox and its properties. While the Magic Mike actor continually expressed his interest in playing the Ragin’ Cajun, development ultimately fizzled out. Now we can imagine what he might look like as that iconic member of the X-Men, thanks to fan art on Instagram. Check it out below:
I mean, how cool is that? Here we can see what Channing Tatum might look like in a comic/ cartoon accurate costume as Gambit. While it’s a bold look, clearly he’s got the bone structure to make it work. And seeing him as the beloved X-Men hero is sure to inspire some serious FOMO for those who had been hoping to see his scrapped project come to fruition. We’ll just have to wait and see what Marvel has up its sleeve for the mutants’ introduction into the shared universe.
The above piece of fan art comes to us from the Instagram of a digital artist that goes by the name Clements.Ink. They’ve got an impressive 14.2k followers on the social media outlet, seemingly thanks to the various pieces of fan art, many of which bring fan castings/theories to life. And when it comes to Channing Tatum, this might be our only opportunity to see what he would look like as Gambit in Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool 3 or another MCU project. Although some hardcore fans might be keeping their fingers crossed that Ryan Reynolds has a secret plan up his sleeve.
Gambit is a fan favorite member of the X-Men, largely thanks to his tenure in the comics and the beloved ‘90s animated series. But he was never factored into the team during Fox’s X-Men franchise, to the dismay of moviegoers. He did get one appearance in the ill-fated X-Men Origins: Wolverine, played by Taylor Kitsch. Unfortunately it was a relatively small role, and we never saw him again or a comic book accurate costume. But since Deadpool 3 will no doubt reference that movie given the return of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, fans are wondering if Gambit could possibly pop up again– either played by Kitsch or Tatum.
Kevin Feige hasn’t revealed his plans for the X-Men to the public, but Phase Four did include a few references to mutants. Ms. Marvel’s finale seemingly revealed that Kamala Khan is a mutant, and Namor self-identified as one during Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Add in Patrick Stewart’s brief role in Doctor Strange 2 and Wolverine in Deadpool 3 and things are really heating up.
Deadpool 3 is currently expected to arrive in theaters on November 8th, 2024. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your trips to the theater in the New Year. As for Channing Tatum, he’s got a number of projects coming out including Magic Mike’s Last Dance– although none of them will give him Gambit’s mutant powers.
