Channing Tatum Opens Up About His Wild, Canceled GAMBIT Movie: “We Had Mutants Having Sex!”
Channing Tatum is once again talking about his long-lost Gambit movie that he tried to get made back when 20th Century Fox still controlled the X-Men universe.
The actor, who finally got to play the fan-favorite mutant in Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine, recently revealed just how insane and bold his original vision for Gambit really was.
In an interview with Variety, Tatum didn’t hold back about what fans missed out on. “Look…if we’d made our Fox version, that script would’ve never gotten made — ever,” he said.
“It was an R-rated romantic comedy. And when I say R-rated, I mean we went for it. 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.
“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.”
Tatum’s Gambit movie was originally pitched as an R-rated, stylish, and sexy romp through the mutant world, something closer in tone to Deadpool than the traditional X-Men films.
The idea was to spotlight the charm, swagger, and chaos that make Remy LeBeau such a unique Marvel character. Unfortunately, the Disney acquisition of Fox ended those plans before cameras could ever roll.
Even though that version of Gambit never made it out of development, Tatum hasn’t lost hope that the character could have a real future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “If the fans really want it, I think there’s a world where Gambit could finally get his due,” he added.
The next time we see Tatum’s Gambit will be in Avengers: Doomsday, but whether Marvel Studios will ever take the risk on Tatum’s wilder R-rated version remains to be seen, but one thing’s clear: fans would absolutely show up for it.
