After a long, long wait, Deadpool & Wolverine has finally hit the theatres, and the buzz surrounding it is pretty much at its peak. Just as expected, the Ryan Reynolds starrer is perfectly overflowing with all the cameos fans had been promised and has also done a lot of characters justice ― like Channing Tatum’s Gambit.
Yes, you read that right. As it turns out, after years and years and years of heartbreak, failures, and ideas that could never materialize, Tatum has finally debuted as Remy LeBeau in the Marvel Cinematic Universe through one of the most surprising and easily the best cameos in Hugh Jackman’s latest superhero blockbuster.
Channing Tatum Has Long Struggled to Make His MCU Debut as Gambit
Years ago, after Remy LeBeau’s first appearance as the mutant in The Uncanny X-Men Annual comic, his fame skyrocketed all the more with the smash hit X-Men: The Animated Series. Being as notoriously famous as him, it was only time before an actor finally scored the chance to bring the character to life in live-action.
This actor was originally supposed to be Channing Tatum. For a character who could induce, control, and even manipulate pure kinetic energy as per his requirements, Tatum found himself to be the perfect match. However, due to scheduling conflicts, he somehow couldn’t debut as LeBeau when he was first introduced in live-action in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Instead, the role went on to Taylor Kitsch, and that was the only live-action appearance the character made (until now). However, losing out on the role initially didn’t demotivate Tatum, as he expressed during a press junket for White House Down (via /Film):
I would like to play Gambit. Gambit’s my favorite. I’m from New Orleans, around that area. My dad’s from New Orleans, and I like to do a Cajun accent. I could do it for real.
Fortunately for him, at that time, Fox was planning its own solo Gambit spin-off movie. By 2015, he was signed on to the movie, and the deal for the movie to be directed by Rupert Wyatt was closed (via The Hollywood Reporter). But even this deal couldn’t stay put for too long as the film faced a lot of directors entering and exiting the project, with the film unable to take any fixed shape.
Additionally, this film couldn’t have a fixed genre either. As Lea Seydoux, who was also once attached to the project, shared with IndieWire, the film was supposed to have quite a lot of comedic elements at one point and may have transformed into a feisty rom-com kind of piece. If that wasn’t enough, the pin couldn’t be fixed on a particular release date either.
All of this further took a turn downhill when Disney acquired Fox in 2019, by the February of which it was announced that Fox’s projects in development with Marvel had been put “on hold.” But even as Tatum held on, with that flicker of hope in his heart, further devastating news awaited him as, within three months, the solo Gambit movie was announced to be dead (via Collider).
Deadpool & Wolverine Has Finally Made Channing Tatum’s Dream Come True
After the project was officially dropped, Tatum was absolutely devastated. As he confessed during an interview with Variety:
Once ‘Gambit’ went away, I was so traumatized. 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.
However, after much speculation about him making his appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine, both fans’ and Tatum’s dreams of having his debut as Remy LeBeau in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have finally come true.
To give you a tiny insight, just like he promised, Tatum has channeled his perfect Cajun accent in Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman‘s recently released blockbuster, which is already winning hearts with its current 98% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
And, hopefully, he will continue to leave the Marvel fandom astounded the same way with his future projects as the iconic fan-favorite mutant.
Deadpool & Wolverine is out in theatres now!
