Over the weekend, X-Men producer Lauren Shuler-Donner confirmed the rumor that ’22 Jump Street’ and ‘Jupiter Ascending’ star Channing Tatum would stepping into the role of Gambit in future installments of the franchise instead of Taylor Kitsch, who portrayed the Ragin’ Cajun in the excruciating ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’. Now, we know some details about when we’ll be seeing the actor (hopefully) don the signature coat and playing cards of one of the most popular comic book characters of all time.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tatum has signed on to play the charming thief Remy LeBeau in his very own ‘X-Men’ spinoff film. This news comes a month after Donner stated that despite the utter failure of ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’, she was interested in spinoffs for Deadpool, Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique, and Gambit. Shortly after that, the actor revealed that he would love to play Gambit and has actually met with the producer about taking the role. It would appear that those meetings went well because the stars have aligned and Fox’s Marvel Universe has gained one of the most in demand stars in Hollywood today.
But the spinoff won’t be the first time we see Tatum’s version of the suave Southerner on the big screen. Reporter Borys Kit confirmed that in addition to the standalone film, we’ll be seeing Gambit introduced in ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’, Bryan Singer and Simon Kinberg’s sequel to ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’. Here’s the tweet announcing the news:
Yes, Channing Tatum will play Gambit. Yes, it will be for a standalone movie. And yes, watch for him to be introduced in X-MEN: APOCALYPSE.
— Borys Kit (@Borys_Kit) May 13, 2014
Currently, the Gambit solo movie is still in development and in search of a director, but with Donner and Tatum attached to the project, there’s a very good chance that this thing will be happening in the relatively near future, especially if the studio wishes to cash in on the actor’s star power.
Naturally, we here at ScienceFiction.com will keep you updated on the latest developments with the future of the ‘X-Men’ movie franchise, but until then, what do you think about Channing Tatum starring as Gambit in his very own spinoff film? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
