As Gambit said, he’s about to make a name for himself. Channing Tatum’s appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine was one of the film’s biggest surprises, mostly because the actor had never played the character before. He’d tried though. Oh, boy, had he tried. Tatum spent the better part of a decade working with directors and writers in attempts to bring the card-throwing Cajun to the big screen but could never get across the line. But, according to co-star Ryan Reynolds, he just needed a chance.
“I honestly don’t know what goes on behind closed doors in the bookkeeping sessions at Marvel, but I do know that they’re obsessed with him in that role,” Reynolds said to Entertainment Weekly. “It’s kind of like the same situation I went through. Once you show that it works well, that’s really what they need. Sometimes they just need to see it in action.”
Reynolds is referring to the moment in July 2014 (around the same time Tatum began working on Gambit, actually) when “leaked” footage of him playing Deadpool hit the internet. The footage exploded, Fox finally saw the potential in the character and the rest is history. So basically Reynolds thinks, with Deadpool & Wolverine showing what Tatum had in mind with the character, and how audiences reacted, the powers that be may, finally, be okay with giving him more to do.
If that were to happen though, it certainly wouldn’t be for some time. Marvel Studios has plenty on its plate for the next several years, mainly the conclusion of the Multiverse Saga with films leading to Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars in 2026 and 2027. But most fans expect mutants to be on the table after that—and, well, what better time for Gambit to get out of the Void and make a name for himself in the MCU?
Do you think a Channing Tatum Gambit movie will actually happen? And did his appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine have the same impact as the Deadpool footage leak? Sound off below.
Deadpool & Wolverine is now on digital and Blu-ray and it’s coming to Disney+ next week.
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