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Channing Tatum Still Isn’t Giving Up on His Solo ‘Gambit’ Movie

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Channing Tatum’s journey with Gambit has been one of Marvel’s longest-running sagas, and the ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ star still isn’t ready to fold his hand on a solo Gambit movie. A standalone film starring Tatum as the Cajun mutant was greenlit in 2014, but it was ultimately cancelled in 2019 when Disney acquired Fox. Tatum and his producing partner Reid Carolin had spent 4 years developing it.

For a long time, it looked like that was the end of the road. Then Ryan Reynolds brought Remy LeBeau into ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’, and Tatum finally got to play the character on screen. His Gambit became the movie’s breakout character, and Marvel quickly started working out how to bring him back.

Now Tatum has made it clear the solo dream is still alive. Speaking with ScreenRant during a promotional appearance for Dunkin’s ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ lineup, he said he “would love there to be” a Gambit movie and that he’s still “fighting” for the chance to make it. His one condition is landing a “very, very good director to realize it,” he told ScreenRant.

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That condition makes sense given how the first attempt fell apart. “We had three different directors that were signed up to do it, and the first one, the studio, Fox, they had a fallout, so that one didn’t work out,” Tatum explained. He added that the second director’s version stayed in development for so long that he felt they needed to move on and actually make the film.

Over the years, Rupert Wyatt, Doug Liman and Gore Verbinski all came and went as directors. Tatum also revealed that Shawn Levy was interested in directing an earlier script, but he and Carolin weren’t ready at the time, around 2014.

That detail adds a bit of irony to the story. Levy went on to direct ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’, the very film that finally gave Tatum his Gambit debut. Tatum now puts some of the original project’s troubles down to frustration and hubris, explaining that he and Carolin convinced Fox to let them write the movie both sides wanted and then fell in love with the result.

Before any solo film happens, Gambit is getting a much bigger stage. Tatum is part of the long list of X-Men actors returning for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, and the trailer confirmed his Gambit wasn’t a one-off cameo. It’s still unclear exactly how big his role will be in the Russo brothers’ film.

Fans should also expect a slightly different Gambit this time. Tatum has confirmed he’ll dial down the thick Cajun accent, which ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ played for laughs with the running joke that nobody could understand him. ScreenRant has also suggested that ‘Doomsday’ may change Gambit’s powers in some way.

The idea still has its doubters. One ScreenRant writer argued that the over-the-top accent that made his cameo such a hit would be hard to sustain over a full-length story, especially a serious one. Another column suggested that Marvel’s new era of the X-Men shouldn’t be held back by projects from the past.

Fan reactions have been mixed as well. Under the post sharing Tatum’s comments, some replies shared by fans pushed back on the idea of Tatum leading his own film, while others have long argued he’s earned it after years of waiting.

For now, Tatum’s focus is on his return in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, which arrives in theaters on December 18. If Gambit makes a big impression there, Marvel may find it harder to ignore the actor who has been fighting for this character for more than a decade.

Do you think Marvel should finally give Channing Tatum his own Gambit movie?

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