‘That Script Would Have Never Gotten Made’: Channing Tatum Opens Up About How Wildly R-Rated His Gambit Movie Was Going To Be

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When 20th Century Fox owned the X-Men film rights, they spent five years trying to develop a movie centered around the character Gambit. Channing Tatum was set to play Gambit, but the project was cancelled when Disney bought Fox in 2019. Interestingly, even if Fox hadn’t been acquired, the movie might have struggled to get made anyway. Tatum recently revealed it would have been a very mature, R-rated X-Men spin-off.

Although the planned *Gambit* movie never happened, Channing Tatum finally got to play Remy LeBeau in *Deadpool & Wolverine* last year, and he’ll return to the role in *Avengers: Doomsday* in 2026. While promoting his new film, *Roofman*, currently in theaters, Tatum was asked by Variety if Marvel Studios might reconsider making a *Gambit* movie. He responded with a knowing smile, saying:

Let’s be real, if we’d gone with our take on the story, that script would have never seen the light of day. It was a very adult romantic comedy – seriously, it pushed the boundaries. We envisioned Gambit as a character who fit right at home alongside Deadpool, and things got pretty explicit – we’re talking about mutants being intimate. It was over the top and completely unrestrained.

More on Channing Tatum’s Gambit

Channing Tatum remembers developing the unique voice for his character, Gambit, before reprising the role in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday film. He described creating the voice as a challenging process.

Apparently, a line delivered by Channing Tatum while playing Gambit in *Deadpool & Wolverine* kept making Ryan Reynolds laugh so hard he couldn’t stop filming – and it’s easy to see why.

Given the mature content in films like *Deadpool* and *Logan*, it’s surprising the proposed *Gambit* movie wasn’t approved. *Deadpool* included very explicit scenes, so what exactly in the *Gambit* script did Channing Tatum think was too extreme, even for an R-rating? What kind of wild behavior was the character getting into?

Channing Tatum believes Disney and Marvel Studios have no plans to revisit his *Gambit* character, even with the success of the R-rated *Deadpool & Wolverine*. He thinks they’re making a mistake by not utilizing Gambit within this more mature content landscape, and feels the character would thrive in that environment.

Marvel and Disney generally avoid certain types of content, and Disney is very consistent in staying away from horror and explicit themes. However, I believe Marvel could benefit from exploring a wider range of tones to create more balance in their storytelling. A character like Gambit offers a fantastic opportunity to do just that – he’s complex and has a lot of potential, and Marvel has been gradually establishing him with audiences. It’s exciting to see, and I think they’ll eventually recognize the possibilities.

For now, whenever Gambit appears in Marvel movies, it will be in films rated PG-13. Channing Tatum will be joined by six original X-Men cast members in the upcoming movie, *Avengers: Doomsday*: Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Ian McKellen as Magneto, Kelsey Grammer as Beast, Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler, and James Marsden as Cyclops. Together, these characters will team up with the Avengers, New Avengers, Fantastic Four, and other heroes to fight Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom.

I’m so excited for *Avengers: Doomsday* to hit theaters on December 18, 2026! While we wait, I’ve been rewatching *Deadpool & Wolverine* on Disney+ – it’s great to see Channing Tatum as Gambit, even if it was just once so far. And I’m really hopeful the upcoming X-Men reboot, directed by Jake Schreier, will find a way to include Gambit too!

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2025-10-11 03:10