Gambit Actor Channing Tatum Explains The Abandoned Solo Film For The Cajun Could Not Be Made Due To Its Mature Content
Before Fox’s X-Men bubble burst with Dark Phoenix, their output became edgier, going for the hard R and blood, and also more character-driven in outings like Deadpool and Logan. That turn came too late, and any benefits couldn’t be reaped with Disney swooping in to buy up the studio and bring the X and Fantastic Four IPs back to Marvel.
In the chaos, one long-delayed project no one wanted to touch was canned, even though they were putting its star, Channing Tatum, front and center with the rest of the mutant cast as if there was assurance cameras would roll soon enough. That project was Gambit, one of the biggest what-ifs of the Fox years.
It was dealt a joker for a lot of reasons, but Tatum thinks the main reason he and writing partner Reid Carolin couldn’t get the studio to go all-in was the script, which he implies sank to Deadpool’s levels of debauchery.
“Look, if we’d made our Fox version, that script would’ve never gotten made, ever. It was an R-rated romantic comedy. And when I say R-rated, I mean we went for it,” Tatum explained to Variety.
“We made Gambit the kind of character who could only exist in a movie with ‘Deadpool.’ We had mutants having sex! It was wild, full-on. That’s something Marvel and Disney would never do. You don’t always know what Disney will be, but you definitely know what it’s not going to be. It’s not gonna be horror. It’s not gonna be sex,” he continued.
However, the actor sees the winds shifting for Gambit to fit unrestrained in the modern superhero cinema landscape, despite Disney’s hegemony over most of it.
“But I think Marvel needs that kind of tonal diversity; something to balance the other side. Gambit’s a great opportunity for that. There’s so much you can do with him, and he’s slowly being built into the Marvel psyche. It’s fascinating, and I think one day they’ll figure it out,” he said.
Gambit couldn’t get made with even Gore Verbinski tenuously attached for a moment, but Disney would eventually call Tatum back and let him make cards “go boom” in Deadpool & Wolverine. He will be back to deal a few hands in Avengers: Doomsday, which the actor says will blow people’s minds.
“It’s gonna make your brains ooze out of your ears, like in the way that I knew when Blade walks on screen in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’…” he told ET Online. “It’s that, times like 50.”
NEXT: ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Review – The MCU Feels Relevant Again
