It sounds like Channing Tatum‘s Gambit movie would have been more like Deadpool than X-Men, as the star has shared some raunchy details of the scrapped project.
Tatum was attached to a Gambit movie for over five years, during which time the X-Men spinoff went through several directors and script drafts before being canceled following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019. Tatum finally got to play the X-Men fan favorite in Deadpool & Wolverine, and his take on Gambit will return in Avengers: Doomsday.
Speaking with Variety, Tatum touched upon his original plans for the Gambit movie. When asked whether it could be revived in the MCU, Tatum said he doesn’t think so, given that the original plans were R-rated and the movie was to be a romantic comedy with sex scenes. Tatum is unsure what Marvel Studios will do with Gambit, but he’s sure the studio won’t go down that route. However, he wants to see Marvel diversify the franchise’s tone and thinks Gambit is the perfect character to try new stories with:
“Look…if we’d made our Fox version, that script would’ve never gotten made — ever. It was an R-rated romantic comedy. And when I say R-rated, I mean we went for it. We made Gambit the kind of character who could only exist in a movie with Deadpool. We had mutants having sex! It was wild — full-on. That’s something Marvel and Disney would never do. You don’t always know what Disney will be, but you definitely know what it’s not going to be. It’s not gonna be horror. It’s not gonna be sex. But I think Marvel needs that kind of tonal diversity; something to balance the other side. Gambit’s a great opportunity for that. There’s so much you can do with him, and he’s slowly being built into the Marvel psyche. It’s fascinating, and I think one day they’ll figure it out.”
‘Gambit’ Would Have Made a Name for Itself
Tatum’s revelations about Gambit confirm but also illuminate new details about the project. It has been reported that the movie was more of a romance than other superhero films, with some calling it an erotic crime thriller and others a screwball rom-com. (Léa Seydoux and Lizzy Caplan were attached at different points in development as lead love interest Bella Donna Boudreaux.) The idea of a sex scene in a superhero movie shouldn’t be shocking, particularly after Deadpool, but given how many modern superhero movies avoid romance, it still would have been a nice change of pace.
However, the idea that Gambit would be R-rated is a new wrinkle, since many assumed it would likely be PG-13 given that 20th Century Fox seemed to want Tatum’s Gambit to take over for Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine as the new leading man of the X-Men franchise. Tatum’s hopes for an R rating might have been what delayed the film, leading to clashes between the studio and the creative team and forcing directors like Rupert Wyatt, Doug Liman, and Gore Verbinski to drop out.
Tatum’s portrayal of Gambit in Deadpool & Wolverine, with an over-the-top Cajun accent, was certainly played for laughs. However, the character’s sense of humor might actually have been what Tatum wanted in his planned film. He’s already hinted that his Gambit will be more subdued in Avengers: Doomsday.