Channing Tatum Reveals Why He Doesn't Watch Marvel Movies Anymore

Many years ago, the world of the X-Men franchise was expanding at a rapid rate while it was owned by studio 20th Century Fox, with The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of the studio seeing a number of those projects getting shelved indefinitely, including the Channing Tatum-starring film focusing on Gambit. The actor is still so disappointed with the fact that he never got to make the project that he has a hard time watching any Marvel Cinematic Universe films, though he still hopes to bring the project to life someday and hopes that Disney will have a change of heart in the future.

"Once Gambit went away, I was so traumatized," Tatum shared with Variety. "I shut off my Marvel machine. I haven't been able to see any of the movies. I loved that character. It was just too sad. It was like losing a friend because I was so ready to play him."

When asked about whether he'd like to get the chance to play the mutant, Tatum confirmed, "Uh, yeah, I would love to play Gambit. I don't think we should direct it. I think that was hubris on our part."

In some respects, Disney purchasing Fox came with a number of exciting opportunities, as now it means the entire roster of X-Men characters can be officially incorporated into the MCU, as opposed to how the two franchises spent years running parallel to one another without crossing over. On the other hand, there are sure to be some unexpected troubles with specific projects, with fans already nervous about how the R-rated nature of Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool could be incorporated into a more family-friendly franchise. 

As if merely being a project in development by Fox wasn't enough of a reason to make it a casualty during the Disney acquisition, Gambit was expected to be rated R, seemingly causing more complications.

"We wanted to make a romantic comedy superhero movie," Tatum's producing partner Reid Carolin pointed out. "The thesis was the only thing harder than saving the world is making a relationship work."

Carolin added, "We were right on the one-yard line ... We had cast the film. We'd opened up a production office. We were on our way to shoot in New Orleans."

Despite the years that have passed, the pair still can't give up hope entirely.

"I wish they would reconsider, because it's a pretty great project," Carolin confessed. "Maybe someday."  

Stay tuned for updates on Gambit's possible MCU future.

Would you like to see the project get revived? Let us know in the comments below!