Deadpool & Wolverine: Why Does [SPOILER] Play Gambit?

Warning: The following article contains major spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine.

Deadpool & Wolverine marks Gambit’s return to the big screen – and this time, the roguish X-Man is portrayed by Hollywood A-lister Channing Tatum! So, why does Channing Tatum play Gambit in Deadpool & Wolverine, exactly?

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Channing Tatum’s Deadpool 3 Gambit Cameo, Explained

As noted above, Channing Tatum isn’t the first actor to portray Remy LeBeau/Gambit in live-action. He came close, though. Director Bryan Singer cast stunt performer James Bamford as Gambit in 2003’s X2: X-Men United, however, Bamford’s solitary scene wound up on the cutting room floor. Several actors were subsequently considered for X2‘s 2006 sequel, X-Men: The Last Stand, with Tatum ultimately landing the gig. But the Magic Mike star didn’t get the chance to film any scenes as Gambit, as the card-slinging mutant superhero was written out of The Last Stand‘s script before cameras rolled.

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Tatum was still the top pick for Gambit in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, however, he was too busy filming G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, instead With Tatum unavailable, 20th Century Fox handed Remy LeBeau’s deck of cards to Taylor Kitsch, signing him up for a further two X-Men outings. Kitsch only played Gambit once, though. Fans and critics alike didn’t vibe with his take on the character, and by 2014, Tatum was in talks to take over the part. He quickly signed on, but despite years of development – and a revolving door of directors, including Doug Liman and Gore Verbinski – Tatum’s Gambit-led spinoff never happened. So, Tatum’s Gambit cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine is a nod to the actor’s long, until now unfulfilled, history with the character.

Why Didn’t Channing Tatum’s Gambit Spinoff Happen?

Channing Tatum’s Gambit spinoff fell apart soon after Disney acquired 20th Century Fox in 2019. Shortly after the deal went through, Disney subsidiary Marvel Studios reviewed Fox’s slate of X-Men projects. This exercise confirmed what many suspected: Marvel’s MCU and the legacy X-Men franchise couldn’t neatly co-exist. As a result, Disney and Marvel shuttered these productions (including Gambit) in favor of rebooting the X-Men within the MCU at a later date.

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That said, since then, Marvel Studios has included several callbacks to Fox’s X-Men movies in the MCU. Notably, Patrick Stewart reprised the Professor X role in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Similarly, Kelsey Grammer once again portrayed Beast in 2023’s The Marvels. Deadpool & Wolverine takes things even further, bringing back Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool, and a raft other X-franchise affiliated actors (including Tatum).

Deadpool & Wolverine is in cinemas now.