Former ‘Walking Dead’ Star Wants to Play X-Men’s Gambit

Former Walking Dead star Rhys Coiro, who played short-lived Savior-turned-marauder Jed in the zombie drama’s ninth season, wants to play card-slinging mutant Gambit. “I think I’d be a good Gambit,” Coiro told Totally Driven Radio. “If I was gonna do an X-Men universe [movie], I think I’d go in for Gambit, that would be my guy.”

Coiro also starred in HBO’s Entourage and its followup film, where he played filmmaker Billy Walsh, and has made appearances in TV’s 24, Graceland, and Ray Donovan. The X-Men universe has since changed hands to Disney following its $71.3 billion acquisition of Fox, who previously controlled the rights to the X-Men, Deadpool, and Fantastic Four properties.

Jump Street and Magic Mike star Channing Tatum has been attached to the role since 2014, intending to make his debut as the fan-favorite Marvel Comics character in the long-gestating Gambit movie that has seen the exits of directors Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity), and Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl).

Most recently, producer Simon Kinberg reported the director-less Gambit is under evaluation by Disney, whose superhero properties — including Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy — populate the shared Marvel Cinematic Universe under Disney’s Marvel Studios banner.

Tatum, who is attached to Gambit as both star and producer, was reported in January to be considering acting as director to realize his dream project. Before the departures of Wyatt, Liman, and Verbinski, Tatum was said to have approached Bennett Miller (Moneyball), Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan), Gareth Evans (The Raid), and J.C. Chandor (Triple Frontier) to helm the X-Men spinoff.

It’s currently unknown what plans Disney-owned Marvel has for Gambit, a roguish, Cajun mutant and thief-turned-superhero powered by kinetic energy. The studio’s newly acquired library, comprised of hundreds to thousands of extra characters, now falls under the purview of MCU architect Kevin Feige, who has overseen the 11-year history of the ever-expanding franchise.

“The truth is, I’m excited for all of them,” Feige previously told MTV News of the characters now in play for Marvel. “I’m excited, and it’s not just the marquee names you know — there are hundreds of names on those documents, on those agreements.” The outcome is “something I’ve been dreaming about for my almost 20 years at Marvel,” Feige said.

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