Channing Tatum Was Devastated Over X-Men Gambit Cancellation, Stopping Watching Marvel Films

Hollywood star Channing Tatum has finally revealed that he still often struggles with the cancellation of the X-Men Gambit project that he was involved in, revealing that he was “traumatized” when the film was put on hold and later axed completely. While talking in a new interview with Variety, Channing Tatum revealed that he doesn’t even watch Marvel films anymore because it makes him miss the character even more.

Channing Tatum really wanted to play Gambit in X-Men Films

“Once Gambit went away, I was so traumatized,” Tatum said. “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 even wrote a script for Gambit alongside his longtime partner in production, Reid Carolin. The film was set to be a raunchy stand-alone film in the same vein as the Deadpool films by Fox. Channing Tatum even revealed that he felt that the Gambit written by him was “the coolest person” who could pull anything off.

Tatum also commented on the sense of fashion of Gambit, revealing, “Most superheroes, their outfits are utilitarian. Batman’s got his belt. Gambit’s like, ‘No, this s**t’s just fly, bro! This s**t walked down the Paris runway last year.’ He’s just wearing the stuff that’s so dope because he loves fashion.”

Channing Tatum’s attachment to the film began in 2014 when the actor was set to star as Gambit in a standalone movie. Tatum’s version of Gambit was supposed to debut in X-Men: Apocalypse, but that did not happen at all. The film underwent some early production issues, while even cycling through various directors including Doug Liman, Rupert Wyatt, and Gore Verbinski. Ultimately, the film was axed after Disney’s infamous acquisition of Fox which led to a number of X-Men movies getting left behind.

However, Tatum hasn’t really shut the doors on playing the character yet, saying he would “love to play Gambit” if given the chance by the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

We are yet to see Gambit in the MCU till now, so Channing Tatum’s goal at the moment could still be a reality someday.