Details on Channing Tatum’s Scrapped GAMBIT Movie: It Was a "Screwball Romantic Comedy"
Channing Tatum spent years trying to bring his Gambit movie to life, but the project never made it past development hell. Now, actress Lizzy Caplan, who was set to co-star, is shedding light on what could have been.
“It was a really cool idea,” Caplan told Business Insider, reflecting on the scrapped film. “It’s kind of odd that it got scrapped. Those movies don’t seem to ever get scrapped, but it did.”
According to Caplan, the film was envisioned as a 1930s-style screwball romantic comedy set within the Marvel Universe.
She explained: “We got down the road, we were gonna shoot it. I think there was a start date. I had had meetings with Channing, and there were a couple different… we had a director, then we didn’t, but I had multiple meetings with Channing and the other producers.
“They wanted to do, like, a ’30s kind of screwball romantic comedy set in that world, which would have been really fun.”
But when Disney acquired Fox in 2019, the studio scrapped the project, effectively killing Tatum’s long-running passion for the role.
The actor admitted to Variety in 2022 that he was “traumatized” by the film falling apart. “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.”
Then, in 2024, Tatum finally got his moment when he played Gambit in Deadpool & Wolverine and he quickly became one of the film’s most entertaining characters.
In a social media post, the actor thanked Ryan Reynolds for making it happen, saying: “I thought I had lost Gambit forever. But [Reynolds] fought for me and Gambit. I will owe him probably forever. Cause I’m not sure how I could ever do something that would be equal to what this has meant to me.
“I love ya buddy…I’m so grateful to be in this movie. It’s a masterpiece in my opinion. And just pure badass joy. I was literally screaming in the theater.”
Tatum’s performance reignited fan demand for a Gambit solo movie, and the actor made it clear he’s still on board. “I’ve been saying I want it for the last 10 years. It’s in Bob Iger and Kevin Feige’s hands. I pray to God.”
Reynolds chimed in as well, saying that Marvel executives are “obsessed with him in that role.” He compared Tatum’s situation to his own journey with Deadpool, suggesting that once Marvel sees something work, they tend to take notice. “Sometimes they just need to see it in action.”
With Tatum’s Gambit finally making it to the big screen and Marvel clearly aware of fan demand, the door might not be completely shut on a solo movie. Whether it happens remains to be seen.