Channing Tatum Reveals Devastation Over X-Men Gambit Cancellation: ‘I Shut Off My Marvel Machine’

Channing Tatum says he still struggles with the cancellation of his X-Men Gambit project, saying he was “traumatized” when the project was put to bed. In a new interview with Variety, the actor said he doesn’t watch Marvel movies anymore because it makes him miss the character.

“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.”

Tatum wrote a script for the project alongside his longtime producing partner, Reid Carolin. The movie was set to be a raunchy stand-alone movie in the same vein of the Deadpool movies. Tatum says he felt the Gambit he wrote was “the coolest person” who could pull anything off.

He also commented on Gambit’s fashion sense, saying, “Most superheroes, their outfits are utilitarian. Batman’s got his belt. Gambit’s like, ‘No, this s**t’s just fly, bro! This s**t walked down the Paris runway last year.’ He’s just wearing the stuff that’s so dope because he loves fashion.”

Tatum’s attachment to the project started back in 2014, when Tatum was set to star as Gambit in a proposed standalone movie. His version of the character was supposed to debut in X-Men Apocalypse, but that ended up not happening. The movie underwent early production issues, cycling through multiple directors including  Rupert Wyatt, Doug Liman, and Gore Verbinski. Eventually, the movie was canceled after Disney’s acquisition of Fox led to a number of X-Men projects getting left behind.

However, Tatum hasn’t shut the door on eventually playing the character, saying he would “love to play Gambit” if given the chance.

We still haven’t seen Gambit in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so Tatum’s goal could still be realized someday. For now, you can check out every other Marvel movie and TV show in the works for 2022 and beyond.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.