Gambit movie: why was Channing Tatum's film a screwball rom-com?

According to a report from Fiction Horizon, Channing Tatum's long planned Gambit movie, the solo X-Men film that was canceled after Disney acquired Fox in 2019, was meant to be a screwball romantic comedy. That detail came from Lizzy Caplan, who was set to star alongside Tatum. Her account made it sound like the film got a lot further in preproduction than was ever reported. Even so, I believe the cancellation was for the best.

Deadpool and Wolverine left Gambit's fate open

In the theatrical cut of Deadpool and Wolverine (2024), starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, Tatum played Gambit. That film left the fate of the resistance force inside the Void open ended. The group included Elektra, Blade and Gambit.

Then there was the deleted post credits scene. In it, Gambit seemed to be standing in front of someone opening a giant portal with a sling ring. That seemed to imply he might return in the future. At the time, we were all waiting to see which X-Men, if any, would make it into Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. It seemed more likely than not that some of those would be returning Fox X-Men, and Tatum might be able to return as Gambit if so.

Lizzy Caplan says Gambit was planned as a 1930s screwball romantic comedy

The details came from a report by Fiction Horizon under the headline "Channing Tatum's Gambit movie was supposed to be a screwball romantic comedy." According to the outlet, Caplan opened up about the project and shared new details on what it could have been. She described Gambit as a "really cool idea" that was surprisingly scrapped.

"It was kind of odd that it got scrapped. Those movies don't seem to ever get scrapped, but it did," Caplan said, per the report. She recalled that production had gotten far along, with a planned start date and several meetings with Tatum and the film's producers. In her words, they wanted to do "like a 30s kind of screwball romantic comedy set in that world which would have been really fun."

The 1930s reference stood out to me. I'm assuming that was meant to be a 1990s or 1980s romantic comedy, since that's when those movies were popular. Either she misspoke or she was misquoted, and that's a simple fix.

Channing Tatum pushed for the Gambit movie for years

The report added that Tatum had been pushing to make Gambit happen for years, but the film was ultimately shut down when Disney acquired Fox in 2019. The actor had been deeply invested in bringing the character to life, working closely with the writer and producer of Magic Mike.

The cancellation hit Tatum hard. In past interviews with Variety, he admitted that once Gambit went away, "I was so traumatized I shut off my Marvel machine." He said he couldn't watch any of the movies, that he loved the character, and that he was too sad. "It was like losing a friend because I was so ready to play him," he said.

Tatum's reading of Gambit is close to the comics, in my view

The report also laid out Tatum's clear vision for Gambit, including his sense of style. According to Tatum, the studio would call the character flamboyant in its description, but he wouldn't. To him, Gambit was the coolest person on Earth and could pull off anything. Most superheroes have utilitarian outfits, he noted, like Batman with his belt, while Gambit's look is simply stylish for its own sake. Tatum added that this look then walked down the Paris runway.

I have a personal take on this that some may not agree with. Judging by the X-Men animated series from the 1990s and the comics, I think Tatum's reading of the character is very close. Gambit is definitely more suave than he is flamboyant, but he is a bit flamboyant. He's into the pantomime and the show, and that all comes from his ego. He knows he's the best, and he talks, walks and acts like it.

So I don't feel his fundamental understanding of the character is off.

Why I think the canceled Gambit movie worked out for Tatum

My doubt is about timing. Fox had been running out its X-Men films, and I think the one that came out right before this would have been Dark Phoenix. I think Tatum is better set up now. I know it probably didn't feel that way at the time.

I'm not sure what that movie would have looked like as a screwball romantic comedy, or whether that's what fans would have wanted, even if they pulled it off. I think there would have been some real risk in taking a Gambit movie into that genre.

I'm not saying a solo film would have had any bearing on whether he came back. But we can use the data points that exist. Fox made a ton of X-Men movies, plus X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the Deadpool movies and Logan. Their track record is about 50/50, a little better or a little worse, I don't know. The upside and the downside were both there. Without the solo film, there's no possible stinker floating around in the zeitgeist.

As things stood, his Gambit appearances would be Deadpool and Wolverine, alongside those two and Blade, and possibly Avengers: Secret Wars. At the time it might have felt like the end of the world to him, because he was so invested. But it seems like it's all worked out. If he does get another shot at Gambit, it will be in what could be the biggest Marvel movie of all time.

X-Men reboot casting reportedly included a new Gambit

Some wondered whether Marvel might keep Tatum around. There were rumors he could end up as the MCU's Gambit, and Ryan Reynolds had said that the top brass at Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige all loved his Gambit.

But casting reports for the then upcoming X-Men reboot, coming from multiple sources, pointed another way. According to casting grids, the two characters Marvel was mainly casting for were Kitty Pryde and Gambit. That came from the most trusted of industry insider sources, Daniel Richtman. If they were casting a future MCU Gambit, that would mean they're not keeping Tatum around, at least not past Avengers: Secret Wars.

Why I'd rather see someone else play Gambit

While this movie didn't get to happen for Tatum, I 100% believe it's for the best. I think there was a much bigger chance of it not landing with fans the way they would have expected a Gambit movie to than of it being pulled off.

I know many fans did like him in the role. Ultimately, though, I would rather see somebody else play Gambit. It's not that he's not a good Gambit. I just don't think he's a great Gambit. To me, he didn't come off on screen the way I read Gambit. It was more like Channing Tatum playing Gambit.

That isn't exactly Tatum's fault. I've said many times that big actors stepping into Marvel roles make it easier to graft the character onto them. I still prefer relative unknowns, but Marvel hasn't been going that way, except behind the camera, which I think is a huge mistake.

Since it sounds like they're going to cast a new actor, here's what I think they should do. Find someone with a thick Louisiana bayou accent and start there. Then find someone, maybe with no acting experience at all, who looks and sounds like the part, so they don't have to work their way backwards.