After making his debut as Gambit in the Marvel Cinematic Universe through Deadpool & Wolverine, Channing Tatum looks at the chances of potentially coming back. One of the major Marvel cameos in Deadpool & Wolverine was the appearance of Remy Lembau, a.k.a. Gambit, one of the most beloved X-Men characters of all time. However, the bigger deal about Gambit’s MCU debut is more about who played him, as Tatum, who was meant to star in a solo movie many years ago, was the one to portray the beloved hero.
Screen Rant recently spoke with Tatum for his new movie Blink Twice and had a chance to discuss a bit about the actor’s Gambit appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine. When asked if he thinks that he will be back as Gambit anytime soon, Tatum remained hopeful to get to return as the X-Men character, confirming he continues to be “talking to Kevin [Feige]” in the hopes of doing so, while also reflecting on the surreal nature of making a cameo in the threequel. See what Tatum shared below:
I’m not going to bore everybody with what we were trying to do with our [Gambit] film, but it was an origin story that we were doing. We were trying to make something that actually would be in the world and could play with Deadpool. You put Deadpool in a lot of scenes with other MCU characters, and he could possibly just make fun of them the entire time. But he wouldn’t, because Ryan loves comics and he loves Marvel.
I would do pretty much any version of Gambit, to be honest. I think we will, hopefully. At least I’m talking to Kevin, and I just want to be in any MCU stuff. To get to dress up again as him would be enough. I felt like [Deadpool & Wolverine] was truly a make-a-wish sort of thing that my friend did for me. It was like, “Come in, and I’ll let you dress up as your favorite superhero character.” I was having an out-of-body experience just standing next to Hugh. It was like, “Oh, my God, there’s Wolverine. There’s Blade! Elektra – everyone’s here, this is wild.”
Your mouth to God’s ears, friend. Help me will it into existence.
Why A Gambit Movie With Channing Tatum Is Unlikely With The MCU
While Tatum’s Gambit appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine has, for the most part, been received with a lot of positive responses, it’s hard to imagine that Feige and Marvel Studios are considering reviving his canceled Marvel film. As Phase 5 will be concluding in 2025, the MCU will be getting closer to Phase 6, which will be the final chapter of The Multiverse Saga. With only a few movies and TV shows left before Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, it would be hard to fit a Gambit film into the Phase 6 slate.
However, what is also preventing a Tatum-starring Gambit film after Deadpool & Wolverine from becoming a reality is the fact that Marvel Studios is working hard on its X-Men reboot that will finally bring the mutants into the franchise as major players. Since the MCU will take new approaches with the X-Men, which includes a major character like Gambit, they will likely want to start from scratch with a younger actor and build the character up from the ground. If a Gambit movie were to happen, it would be with the main MCU iteration, who will most likely not be played by Tatum.
Even if he doesn’t get his own film to headline for Marvel Studios, Tatum could still come back as Gambit a few more times before The Multiverse Saga is over. Since Avengers: Secret Wars is rumored to lead into a soft reboot for the MCU, Phase 6 would be the proper time to have Tatum back as Gambit one last time before the franchise gets reimagined for Phase 7. Hopefully, even if it is just one more time, Tatum will get to suit up as Gambit sooner rather than later after his fantastic debut in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Blink Twice opens in theaters on August 23.
