Warning: SPOILERS for Deadpool & Wolverine are ahead!
Back when 20th Century Fox existed as one of the major film studios and was releasing the X-Men movies, there was a good half decade where a Gambit movie was in development. The character had previously been played by Taylor Kitsch in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but Channing Tatum would have taken over as the Ragin’ Cajun for this spinoff. While Gambit was cancelled once Disney acquired Fox in 2019, Tatum finally got his time to shine as Remy LeBeau thanks to Deadpool & Wolverine, the 34th of the Marvel movies in order. A little over a week following the threequel being released on the 2024 movies schedule, Ryan Reynolds has explained why Tatum is the perfect Gambit, and it seems like he’s also making a case for the Gambit movie to be revived.
In addition to sharing the first official photos of Tatum suited up as Gambit, Reynolds used his X (formerly known as Twitter) post to shower the Magic Mike and 21 Jump Street actor with praise, saying:
Gambit is a guy Chan was born to play. His story is similar to mine in that he spent a decade trying to put the most comic-accurate version of Gambit on the big screen. Remy LeBeau is grafted to his soul and needs to come out and deal. And Gambit found his author in Chan. He’s one of the coolest, smartest characters in Comics and still largely unexplored. I want more — and from what I saw in theaters, you do too. Having the chance to say goodbye to some of these heroes is as important as having new characters to root for… and rooting for Gambit is easy. Rooting for Chan is even easier. He’s one of the greatest, hardest working, kindest people in this entire industry. I couldn’t be more thrilled to see @channingtatum pull Gambit from the dead and bring him to life at the perfect time and perfect way. #Gambit ♠️ #DeadpoolAndWolverine.
Channing Tatum’s Gambit was among the biggest cameos in Deadpool & Wolverine, although really, it’s better to call it a supporting role. He shared screen time alongside Elektra, Blade and Laura/X-23, who comprised the resistance effort against Cassandra Nova in The Void. Johnny Storm/The Human Torch was also part of this group, but he came to a rather unceremonious end when Wade Wilson shared all the horrible things he’d said about Cassandra, as proven in the Deadpool 3 end-credits scene. Gambit, Elektra, Blade and Laura joined Deadpool and Wolverine in storming Cassandra’s compound so that the latter two protagonists could make it back to Earth-10005.
Ryan Reynolds clearly enjoyed his time working with Channing Tatum on Deadpool & Wolverine, but more importantly, he’s hopeful this isn’t the last time we see this version of Gambit. Whether his hopes become reality remain to be seen. Although Deadpool & Wolverine paved the way for the MCU’s mutant era following X-Men references in projects like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Ms. Marvel and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the X-Men reboot being written by Michael Lesslie is expected to feature all-new versions of these superheroes. Tatum’s Gambit movie may not have ever been made, but that take on the superhero could technically still be considered part of the Fox era.
On the other hand, maybe Kevin Feige and the other bigwigs at Marvel Studios were also impressed enough with Channing Tatum’s Gambit performance that they’ll bring him back, even if it’s not for his own movie and he doesn’t end up being the main MCU reality’s Gambit. After all, with upcoming Marvel movies like Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, we’re not done exploring the Marvel multiverse. Now that Tatum’s Gambit has been freed from The Void, his kinetic energy-generating and manipulating skills may be called upon again.
While there will come a day when Deadpool & Wolverine can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription, for now, you need to head to your local theater to enjoy Channing Tatum’s Gambit outing. Though this movie is the MCU’s only theatrical offering in 2024, the franchise will pick back up on Disney+ in September when the miniseries Agatha All Along premieres.
