Channing Tatum Was So Devastated by His Gambit Film Getting Canceled That He Swore off Marvel

After years of trying to make a Gambit movie, Channing Tatum finally got a chance to play the iconic X-Man in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Following the film’s release, the actor took to social media to thank Ryan Reynolds for giving him the opportunity, saying, “I thought I had lost Gambit forever.”

Tatum originally signed on to star in a Gambit X-Men movie for 20th Century Fox in 2014. At the time, the plan was to introduce the mutant in X-Men: Apocalypse before spinning him off into his own franchise.

Photo: Channing Tatum on X

Over the next four years, however, the film would linger in development hell, cycling through directors and release dates. Rupert Wyatt, Doug Liman, and Gore Verbinski were variously attached to the project, but nothing materialized.

Tatum’s Love of Gambit

In a recent interview with Variety, Tatum reflected back on that time period, noting that Fox did not want the actor or his longtime production partner Reid Carolin (who co-wrote the Gambit script) to direct the film.

Photo: Marvel

“The studio really didn’t want us to direct it,” he said. “They wanted anybody but us, essentially, because we had never directed anything.”

Tatum liked the Gambit script so much (he says it resembled the tone that Deadpool would eventually take) that he was willing to give up directing.

Photo: Marvel

“They would call him ‘flamboyant’ in his description,” Tatum said. “I wouldn’t — he was just the coolest person. He could pull anything off. Most superheroes, their outfits are utilitarian. Batman’s got his belt. Gambit’s like, ‘No, this [stuffs] just fly, bro! This [stuff] walked down the Paris runway last year.’ He’s just wearing the stuff that’s so dope because he loves fashion.”

The Actor Was Devastated

Disney’s 2019 purchase of 20th Century Fox would prove to be the final nail in the coffin for Tatum’s Gambit film. The actor was devastated.

Photo: Twentieth Century Fox

“Once ‘Gambit’ went away, I was so traumatized,” Tatum recalled “I shut off my Marvel machine. I haven’t been able to see any of the movies. I loved that character. It was just too sad. It was like losing a friend because I was so ready to play him.”

A Happy Ending

While Tatum’s dreams of playing Gambit seemed to have ended, one call from Ryan Reynolds changed everything.

Photo: Marvel

“I will owe him probably forever,” Tatum said. “I’m not sure how I could ever do something that would be equal to what this has meant to me. I love ya, buddy.

Photo: Marvel

Deadpool & Wolverine is in theaters now.

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