Channing Tatum’s long-rumored Gambit movie, which ultimately never made it to the big screen, was set to take the beloved Marvel character in a very unexpected direction. While many had speculated that the film would focus on the Cajun card sharp, Remy LeBeau, using his playing cards as explosive weapons in his battles, it turns out that the film’s tone would have leaned more toward a quirky, screwball romantic comedy.
Lizzy Caplan, who was set to play the female lead opposite Tatum, has shed new light on the film’s premise, describing it as a “’30s kind of screwball romantic comedy.” Caplan, who joined the project in 2017, was never officially confirmed as the character of Rogue, but her casting alongside Tatum’s Gambit points toward the idea that she would have taken on the iconic role, especially following Anna Paquin’s departure from the franchise after 2014’s Days of Future Past.
Reflecting on the film’s potential, Caplan admitted it was a “really cool idea” and expressed surprise at how it was ultimately scrapped. “It’s kind of odd that it got scrapped because those movies don’t seem to ever get scrapped, but it did,” Caplan told. “We got down the road, we were gonna shoot it… I had had meetings with Channing, and there were a couple of different things going on. We had a director, then we didn’t, but I had multiple meetings with Channing and the other producers. They wanted to do a ’30s kind of screwball romantic comedy set in that world, which would have been really fun.”
Tatum, eager to bring the role of Gambit to life, had been pushing for the film for years, even working to master a Creole accent in preparation. However, the project stalled when Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, and the company’s focus shifted toward integrating characters into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which didn’t include the Gambit project. This change in direction left many of Fox’s previous superhero ventures, including Gambit, without a clear place in the MCU.
Producer Simon Kinberg, who had been closely involved with the project, previously discussed the film’s intended tone in 2018, describing it as a blend of romantic or sex comedy with superhero elements. “When I say romantic comedy, I use that term loosely, in the same way that I use the term western for Logan loosely,” Kinberg told IGN. “It’s not like they’re gunslingers at high noon in Logan—it’s just a vibe. And I would say the vibe of Gambit has a romantic or sex comedy vibe to it.”
While the film never came to fruition, Gambit’s potential as a superhero rom-com remains a missed opportunity, especially given the character’s long-standing romantic connection with Rogue, both in the comics and on television. Despite the setbacks, Tatum would later portray the character in Deadpool 2, though the dream of his own solo Gambit movie remains unfulfilled.
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