Channing Tatum Explains Why He Loves Gambit

09/06/2017 08:56 am EDT

Channing Tatum's Gambit movie may have hit some development snags, but the star is still on board and hoping to bring his favorite superhero to life as part of Fox's X-Men franchise.

A less committed actor may have already given up on the project, which has lost two directors, but Tatum has been a fan of Gambit for a long time.

"There wasn't a comic store, but the cartoon was on TV and he was this cool Cajun guy," Tatum tells The Straits Times, recalling the popular X-Men: The Animated Series, which debuted 25 years ago.

Tatum was so inspired by Gambit that he pretended he was the character, swinging a homemade version of Gambit's staff and emulating the mutant's energy-charging abilities using a deck of cards, the character's signature weapon.

"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," Tatum says.

Tatum's attraction to the character comes from Gambit's cultural roots, which are firmly rooted in the same Cajun heritage that Tatum grew up in.

"He is just cool, man," Tatum says. "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 confirmed at this year's Comic-Con that he is actively working on Gambit with Fox. Tatum says the delays have actually been a blessing. The film's script is being rewritten, giving the project a fresh start.

The still untitled Gambit movie currently has a 3.49 out of 5 ComicBook.com User Anticipation rating, making it the nineteenth most anticipated upcoming comic book movie among ComicBook.com users. Let us know how much you're looking forward to the Gambit movie by giving the film your own personal ComicBook.com User Anticipation Rating below.

The Gambit movie still does not have a firm release date, though Fox has several unidentified Marvel movies on its upcoming schedule.

Disclosure: ComicBook is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.