Of Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Ever since Channing Tatum stole all his scenes Deadpool & Wolverinefans have been clamoring for him to have a solo gambit movie. This is only natural. Not only was Tatum hilarious in the latest film, but he was tapped to play the character for Fox even before the MCU began, so belatedly giving him a solo film might seem like a no-brainer. But it’s just not in the cards, my friendsand I’m here to tell you why a solo Gambit movie is the worst idea since I let Brett Ratner direct X-Men 3.
This mutant is getting old
Channing Tatum is a talented performer with a genuine passion for the character, so why do I think having a Gambit movie is a terrible idea? Partly, the 44-year-old is a little too old for the role. Although it made sense for him to be a little older as someone trapped in a diverse wasteland in Deadpool & Wolverinefans must remember that Marvel wants its big stars to sign 10-year contracts. He’s obviously in great shape (just ask Magic Mike fans), but do we really want to see Tatum in his mid-50s trying to keep up with his younger co-stars?
Speaking of younger stars, it’s worth remembering that Disney is preparing to unleash his merry band of mutants on the MCU and most of them (except Wolverine, of course) will be played by youthful actors new to their roles. If Rogue is played by someone in their 20s, it would be embarrassingly awkward to have her (Le)beau be someone almost twice her age.
Gambit is not ace in the deck
But let’s say it makes sense to have another middle-aged guy on the team of youngsters… even then, Channing Tatum’s Gambit movie is still dead in the water. That’s because Gambit is a bit like the Hulk in that he’s at his best as part of an ensemble where his larger-than-life personality can bounce off others in fun ways. It’s fun to see him flirt with Rogue or annoy Wolverine, but without the other colorful characters, Gambit is a guy with a barely decipherable accent and a party trick with mutant powers.
And Marvel’s comic writers knew this long before Channing Tatum was considered for a Gambit movie. Historically, Gambit’s solo runs haven’t lasted very long, and his most memorable runs outside of the X-Men books have been one-shots where he teams up with characters like Storm and Deadpool. Real talk: if this character can’t sustain enough interest from his biggest fans to keep a solo title going, he’ll never generate enough interest among the general public to make a big-budget movie a big hit.
Nobody wants this origin story
That leads to the final problem with Channing Tatum headlining a Gambit movie: the character’s origin story would be difficult to convert into the mainstream Marvel movie where Disney expects to sell countless action figures and rake in a billion dollars at the box office. A movie about the machinations of the Thieves’ Guild and Assassin’s Guild might have plenty of interesting lessons for superfans to consume, but it wouldn’t have the thrill the public expects from a franchise filled with killer set pieces and countless explosions. Forget aliens attack New York … this would be a movie about two-bit thieves backstabbing each other in New Orleans, and it’s unlikely to win over moviegoers already reeling from superhero fatigue.
For the record, I think Channing Tatum is a great actor, and his performance in Deadpool & Wolverine was one of the highlights of that hit movie. But this is a case where stretching a memorable cameo into an entire solo film would be a terrible idea for many reasons, including functionally taking the role from a younger actor who would be better off with the upcoming team of MCU X-Men. And keeping Tatum out of a future Gambit movie has another benefit that might be the most important of them all: We won’t have to hear an accent so unspeakably thick it would require subtitles for the entire movie.
