Channing Tatum's Gambit Movie Removed From Disney Schedule

It seems Channing Tatum’s dream of playing the X-Men’s Gambit is finally dead. Walt Disney [...]

It seems Channing Tatum's dream of playing the X-Men's Gambit is finally dead. Walt Disney Studios today released its updated film released schedule for the next several years. Gambit — previously dated for March 13, 2020 — is no longer on that schedule.

Three other untitled Marvel movies from 20th Century Fox have also been removed the schedule. While Fox never officially named the films those dates were posted for, they may have been related to the rumored X-Men movies about Multiple Man, Kitty Pryde, and X-Force.

That means that, as of now, The New Mutants will be the last X-Men movie pre-dating Disney's purchase of Fox to see release. The film was delayed again, this time into 2020, but not removed from Disney's schedule.

Tatum was to star as Remy LeBeau, the mutant thief who joined the X-Men in 1990. The film would have seen Gambit leading a motley mutant crew on a dangerous heist. Tatum has spoken before about why it is he loves Gambit so much.

"There wasn't a comic store, but the cartoon was on TV and he was this cool Cajun guy," Tatum said. "And he was the easiest person to play as a kid because you could just unscrew the broom handle, get a pack of cards and wrap a bandana around your head. We had a lot of fun throwing cards and trying to take our friends' eyes out across the living room.

"He is just cool, man. He is one of the few superheroes that has an actual culture to him. He doesn't talk like a vanilla American. He is from a specific geo-location, New Orleans, which is a really specific thing."

Tatum appeared with the casts of 20th Century Fox's once-growing X-Men franchise at San Diego Comic-Con in 2015. The project never got off the ground as it several directors -- including Doug Liman, Rupert Wyatt, and Gore Verbinski -- came and went.

Chris Claremont and Jim Lee created Gambit and the film was reportedly based on a treatment by Claremont. Many fans were first exposed to Gambit through the 1990s X-Men: Animated Series. The mutant has the ability to charge objects with kinetic energy, causing them to explode. Though he joined the X-Men, Gambit remained a scoundrel. This and his ill-fated romance with Rogue made him an instant hit with fans.

What do you think of the Gambit movie being shelved? Let us know in the comments section.

Dark Phoenix, the next installment of the main X-Men movies series, opens in theaters on June 7th. The New Mutants follows on August 3rd, 2020.

-----

Have you subscribed to ComicBook Nation, the official Podcast of ComicBook.com yet? Check it out by clicking here or listen below.

In this latest episode, we share our Detective Pikachu review, talk MCU Phase 4, Marvel's new Hulu shows, and more! Make sure to subscribe now and never miss an episode!

5comments