X-Men, Wolverine, Deadpool, and The New Mutants. Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there was the X-Men series. For two decades, this film series based on Marvel’s superhero team dominated, starting with the original X-Men film in 2000. The series continued, even running alongside the MCU before finally concluding with 2020’s The New Mutants. One film that you may not remember from this franchise is Gambit. That is because the Channing Tatum-led feature based on the iconic mutant never materialized.

Half a decade of issues and behind-the-scenes struggles caused the film to officially be dropped in 2019, just after Disney’s merger with Fox. However, this merger also meant that Fox’s X-Men could finally be integrated into the MCU. As we know, the MCU is not shy about giving solo films or TV series to any character they want, with the spin-offs only ramping up since the launch of Disney+. With the X-Men joining the most successful superhero media franchise of all time, could we see Channing Tatum’s Gambit finally materialize?

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Let’s look at what we know about Gambit, what happened to it, and where we might go from here.

The Gambit Film That Never Was

     Image via Nerdist

As an ally of the X-Men, it makes sense that Fox would want to integrate Gambit into their superhero franchise. So, what exactly went wrong? The solo Gambit film was first announced in October 2014. Between 2014 and early 2018, three directors – Rupert Wyatt, Doug Liman, and Gore Verbinski – were hired, and all ended up backing out, leading Fox to remove the film from the release schedule while they tried to find a fourth.

RELATED: Gambit Script was ‘Really Good’ & ‘More of a Comedy,’ According to Léa Seydoux

By early 2019, star Channing Tatum expressed interest in directing with producer Reid Carolin as co-director. However, Fox was less than thrilled with this, as neither Tatum nor Carolin had ever directed at that point.

Around this time, Fox’s merger with Disney was shaping up, and Gambit was put on hold once again until after the merger was complete. In May 2019, the House of Mouse cleaned house, and Gambit was officially given the ax. The film would have likely fit in well with the X-Men series, with a vibe reportedly similar to Deadpool as a “Mutant Goodfellas.” Supervillain Mister Sinister would have also made his big-screen debut in the ill-fated production.

What Does Channing Tatum Think?

     United Artists Releasing

In the years since the demise of Gambit, Channing Tatum has not shied away from revealing his true feelings about the project. In a 2022 interview with Variety, Tatum revealed just how “traumatized” he was after the cancellation of his passion project. “The studio really didn’t want us to direct it,” he said. “They wanted anybody but us, essentially, because we had never directed anything.” The Magic Mike star was willing to let someone else occupy the director’s chair, but even that wasn’t enough to save the ill-fated production. After devoting so many years of his life to bringing Gambit to screen, the cancellation wasn’t easy for Tatum to accept.

“Once ‘Gambit’ went away, I was so traumatized,” Tatum said. “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.”

RELATED: Channing Tatum’s Best Performances, Ranked

Even after everything he went through, Tatum still wants to play Gambit, saying, “Uh, yeah, I would love to play Gambit. I don’t think we should direct it. I think that was hubris on our part.” With Tatum open to revisiting the character, could Marvel find its way back into his good graces by incorporating the character into the MCU?

Will Gambit Come to the MCU?

     Marvel Comics

With the X-Men franchise no more, there’s one option remaining if Disney reconsiders and brings Gambit to life: the MCU. Theoretically, this should be the perfect option, as it seems like every single Marvel character that exists is getting some spin-off TV series or movie. Where does that leave Gambit? While nothing has been confirmed, a July 2022 leak hinted that the character’s MCU debut might be closer than we think.

According to a Twitter leak, Marvel is casting roles for a new series focusing on the “Beaudreaux” family, who runs a crime syndicate in Louisiana. The alleged casting call notes a son in his 20s named “Talex” and his mother and father. While the names don’t match, the character Gambit notably hails from Louisiana with connections to organized crime. This is all speculation and could just be a coincidence if this leak is even reputable.

So what does this mean? If the casting call is to be believed and Marvel is indeed bringing Gambit into the MCU, it likely will not be with Channing Tatum, as the casting call specifically asks for an actor in their 20s. Fans have lobbied Elvis star Austin Butler as a possible Gambit, even generating mockup art of how that could look. It is still possible that the leak may not be accurate, in which case there could be a chance Tatum finally gets to play his dream role. If there’s one thing we can say about the MCU, they have no intention of slowing down their content output. Maybe the sprawling MCU library on Disney+ could find a place for Gambit. All we can do is wait and see.

Also, where are we on that Howard the Duck solo feature?