At one point, Channing Tatum was all set to star in an X-Men spinoff as Gambit before the project died in development hell.
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The role that got away for Channing Tatum was Gambit, as the Magic Mike’s Last Dance star had been cast in the role for a planned solo film about the X-Men character. It was a dream role for Tatum, who’d long been a fan of the crimefighting mutant, but the project fizzled out before production could get started. The film’s cancelation devastated Tatum to the point where he’s been unable to watch any Marvel movies ever since.
In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Tatum reflected on the ill-fated Gambit movie. He explains how the film was essentially squashed when Disney acquired the planned project through its Fox acquisition in 2019. Tatum theorizes that the film’s dark tone conflicted with what Disney execs had in mind for the X-Men, or perhaps they’re just taking their sweet time in figuring out how to approach the film. In any case, Tatum seems to accept that it’s a lost cause, noting that he’s had to “let it go” by this point.
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“It got swallowed up into Disney by way of Marvel when they bought Fox, and ultimately I just think that the tone of the movie we wanted to make was very far from what they wanted to do—or, you know, maybe they’re waiting to see how they do it with us or without us. We call every once in a while, but we’ve got to spiritually, emotionally, kind of mentally let it go.”
There may have been other difficulties standing in the way of the project anyway, as Tatum also recalls. He says that he was keeping busy with many other high-profile projects at that time, which may have created some scheduling issues. Even so, his work wasn’t leaving him feeling as excited as the way Gambit had.
“I was working a lot. I had gotten to work with some of my favorite directors. I had checked boxes that I would never have hoped to dream about. But something just wasn’t quite filling me up. I was sort of kind of just trying not to be bad in movies, instead of being good. And I was kind of going, ‘What’s…’ And it really had nothing to do with my work. It was really about my life.”
Related: Gambit: Concept Art from Channing Tatum’s Canceled X-Men Spinoff Revealed
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Tatum also revealed that his production company has acquired the rights to a Ghost remake. The actor will also potentially star in the film as a new version of Patrick Swayze’s character, who returns as a spirit after his murder to protect his love from the people who’d killed him. This might be the next big role Tatum will be excited about after mentally letting go of Gambit.
Meanwhile, Tatum is keeping at it in Hollywood, with his latest role coming in the newest installment of the Magic Mike series. Dubbed Magic Mike’s Last Dance, the film hits theaters on Feb. 10, 2023.
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