Edgar Wright Explains Why He Turned Down the Opportunity to Direct Channing Tatum in a Marvel GAMBIT Movie

Director Edgar Wright is known for making some great movies like Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Baby Driver, and Last Night in Soho to name a few. We already knew he was the almost-director of Marvel’s Ant-Man movie, but it turns out that he had the chance to take on another Marvel movie, which he never even considered.

In a recent interview with /Film, Wright explained why he declined when producer Simon Kinberg approached him to take on the adaptation of Gambit, with Channing Tatum starring:

"Gambit wasn't a character I knew too well. He appeared after my time reading Marvels — roughly 1985 — 1990 or so. [He] wasn't one that I knew a lot about and hadn't really read growing up, so it felt like it was someone else's dream gig. Maybe he means more to people who watched the [animated] show? Which again, was after my time."

Wright has done a good job of choosing projects that he’s very passionate about, and this just wasn’t one of them. Channing Tatum was very enthusiastic about trying to make this movie happen, and he reportedly went after several directors including Darren Aronofsky, J.C. Chandor, Bennett Miller, and Gareth Evans. It’s too bad it didn’t work out, but it’s rumored that Tatum will appear as Gambit in the upcoming sequel Deadpool 3. We will just have to wait and see if it happens.