Channing Tatum 'Too Traumatised' To Watch Marvel Movies After Gambit
Topics: Channing Tatum, Disney, Marvel, X-Men, Film and TV
Poppy Bilderbeck
Featured Image Credit: Alamy/Marvel
Topics: Channing Tatum, Disney, Marvel, X-Men, Film and TV
Channing Tatum has opened up about why he still can't face watching Marvel movies after the rigmarole of superhero project Gambit.
Gambit was intended to be a stand-alone superhero film, based on the X-Men character of the same name. The Magic Mike star and his producer partner Reid Carolin spent four years developing the project, with Tatum set to take on the titular role as well as direct.
However, the film was never destined to see the light of day, which Tatum says left him with a bitter taste in his mouth and 'just too sad' to watch any Marvel film.
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Gambit was to be similar in tone to 2016's Deadpool, according to Variety. Carolin said: 'We wanted to make a romantic comedy superhero movie. The thesis was the only thing harder than saving the world is making a relationship work.'
Tatum and Carolin not only wrote Gambit's script, but were also set to direct the film, despite the studio 'really' not wanting them to. 'They wanted anybody but us, essentially, because we had never directed anything,' Tatum explained.
Tatum was also set to play the main role of the mutant superhero, who he defends to this day. 'They would call him ‘flamboyant’ in his description. I wouldn’t – he was just the coolest person. He could pull anything off. Most superheroes, their outfits are utilitarian. Batman’s got his belt. Gambit’s like, ‘No, this sh*t’s just fly, bro! This sh*t walked down the Paris runway last year'. He’s just wearing the stuff that’s so dope because he loves fashion,' Tatum said.
While Carolin said the project was 'right on the one-yard line' with the cast having been decided, production office opened, and the crew on the way to 'shoot in New Orleans', the film ended up being discarded as a result of Disney merging with Fox in 2019.
'Disney had just gotten the X-Men from Fox. I think they needed to redesign the X-Men from the ground up,' Carolin explained.
Since having the plans for Gambit crushed, Tatum said he has been left 'traumatized'. '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,' he said.
Carolin concluded: 'I wish they would reconsider, because it’s a pretty great project. Maybe someday.'
You may not be able to catch Tatum in Gambit, but you can see him in The Lost City which he stars in alongside Sandra Bullock, and also in the upcoming and highly anticipated finale to the Magic Mike franchise.
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