Channing Tatum Opens Up About His DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE Cameo: “I Don’t Feel Like a Part of That”
When Deadpool & Wolverine hit theaters, it didn’t just break records, it blew them apart. The movie became the highest-grossing R-rated film ever made, earning universal love from both fans and critics.
The film pulled off something special, bringing Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine back to the big screen while paying tribute to past Marvel icons like Elektra (played by Jennifer Garner) and X-23 (Dafne Keen).
But one of the most exciting surprises came from Channing Tatum, who finally got to step into the role of Gambit, a character he’s been trying to play for years!
Despite the massive reaction to his appearance, Tatum’s feelings about the whole experience are surprisingly down-to-earth.
While promoting his new movie Roofman on Hot Ones, Tatum opened up about his career and his short stint in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When host Sean Evans brought up Deadpool & Wolverine, Tatum admitted he didn’t really feel like he was part of the phenomenon.
“I was in it for two seconds,” Tatum said. “So I don’t feel like a part of that.”
For most fans, though, his Gambit cameo was anything but small. It was a long-awaited payoff after years of setbacks trying to get his Gambit movie off the ground.
The love for his take on the character was so strong that Marvel quickly confirmed Tatum’s return in Avengers: Doomsday, which is shaping up to be another massive multiverse event bringing back classic X-Men stars from the Fox era.
In the same interview, the actor spoke candidly about the current state of Hollywood and how streaming has shifted the way movies are made.
“I think, now, when you get asked to do a movie, or you’re trying to get a movie made, it’s a very confused pipeline of possibilities, and it really feels like, at times, that you’re incentivized to make bad things to get paid, rather than make something really, really good, for the f-cking people that actually get to see these things and people that I want to see these movies, the person that I was when I was a kid, and I want good movies.
“I’m like, ‘Man, I want to give my money to the good movies.’ It’s such an upside-down moment, but I do believe that the disruption is going to lead to something good. I do believe that. I do believe the streamers came in for a reason, and it had to change, it had to morph.”
It’s clear that Tatum’s passion for quality storytelling runs deep, even as he’s part of one of Hollywood’s biggest franchises. His hope that the industry is heading toward a creative resurgence feels genuine.
With Avengers: Doomsday on the horizon, it sounds like fans haven’t seen the last of Tatum’s Gambit just yet. And while he might not “feel like a part of” Deadpool & Wolverine, fans definitely think otherwise.
Avengers: Doomsday opens in theaters on December 18, 2026.