After a four-year break from theaters, Channing Tatum will be returning to the big screen, starring in the upcoming films Dog and The Lost City. Tatum and Dogs co-director Reid Carolin spent four years constructing Gambit, a standalone X-Men film centered around the card-throwing mutant that never saw the light of day, which is why Tatum finds it hard to watch Marvel films.
The 20th Century Fox project began to gain a little steam in 2016 for the iconic X-Men mutant. Gambit is a unique character who can control and manipulate pure kinetic energy, more commonly known for his skillful card-throwing ability. Gambit's only physical appearance in the live-action X-Men franchise came in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, with Taylor Kitsch cast for the role.
Tatum was almost cast as Gambit for the standalone film and continued to have a burning desire to bring the character to life. He and Carolin asked to direct the developing project together, but the studio saw their inexperience to be an issue. "The studio really didn't want us to direct it," stated Tatum during an interview with Variety. "They wanted anybody but us, essentially, because we had never directed anything." Tatum's love, however, for the script he and Carolin had constructed was enough not to push the issue. Their wished-for version of Gambit was slated to resemble the tonal nature of Deadpool and would have been rated R based on the direction they were heading. The idea would have resulted in a romantic comedy superhero movie, with the premise centering around the relationship between the iconic mutant and his first wife, Belladonna. The project was very close to happening but never crossed the finish line. "We were right on the one-yard line," disclosed Carolin. "We had cast the film. We'd opened up a production office. We were on our way to shoot in New Orleans."
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Gambit's downfall occurred once Disney merged with Fox in 2019 and expressed a desire to fully restructure the X-Men franchise from scratch. The news of the shelved project shattered Tatum, causing him to distance himself from Marvel and the projects they would develop over the years. "Once 'Gambit' went away, I was so traumatized," expressed Tatum. "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." Tatum was so in love with the character he and Carolin had created, highlighting the unique characteristics that made him stand out from other superheroes. Seeing what could have been with other Marvel projects was synonymous with throwing salt in the wound, which prompted Tatum to turn away.
The feeling is understandable, especially with the amount of time Tatum and Carolin dedicated to the project, but future appearances aren't entirely out of reach for the mutant as Marvel continues to revamp past heroes onto new platforms. If given a chance, Tatum has indicated that he would still love to play Gambit but would more than likely not throw his name into the hat to direct it again. "Uh, yeah, I would love to play Gambit. I don't think we should direct it. I think that was hubris on our part," expressed Tatum. With the MCU's newest phase in motion, there is a high possibility that Gambit could make a return, especially with speculation circling that specific mutant characters may appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness later this year.
Despite the pain of seeing something meaningful peter out, Tatum has some great moments ahead of him this year. As stated, Dog will be his directorial debut, a film deeply personal to the actor, inspired by the passing of his beloved dog Lulu. In addition, starring alongside Sandra Bullock and Brad Pitt in The Lost City will be a welcomed return to the comedic field for the actor, which audiences are sure to enjoy once it arrives. Gambit may be on the shelf for now, but the actor's return may ignite the fuse to get the momentum behind it started once more.
The X-Men films are available to stream on Disney Plus in Canada.
Source: Variety