Channing Tatum Won’t Watch Marvel Movies After ‘Gambit’ Cancellation: ‘I Was So Traumatized’
As the Marvel universe continues to expand at a rapid pace, it seems like a new Hollywood star is cast as a superhero every day. In fact, it’s almost rarer to find an A-list star who is not developing a comic book movie. Channing Tatum occupies that rarified air, and the “Magic Mike” star does not expect that to change anytime soon. In fact, he does not even watch Marvel movies. In an interview with Variety, Tatum says he is still not over the collapse of his planned X-Men spinoff “Gambit,” and the unmade project has soured him on all things Marvel.
After Taylor Kitsch briefly appeared as Gambit in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” Channing Tatum signed on to star in a movie based on the card-throwing Cajun superhero in 2014. The film was in development for five years, with Tatum frequently voicing his enthusiasm for the character and project. However, the film never materialized and Disney officially canceled the project after purchasing 20th Century Fox.
More from IndieWire
Tatum says that the main holdup was his desire to direct the film himself with producing partner Reid Carolin. The two wrote the script together, but the film was frequently delayed out of Fox’s desire to find a more experienced director.
“The studio really didn’t want us to direct it,” he said. “They wanted anybody but us, essentially, because we had never directed anything.” However, even when Tatum was willing to let someone else direct, the film ended up being canceled at the last minute. The film had already opened a production office in New Orleans in anticipation of a planned shoot, but Disney’s acquisition of Fox caused the studio to pause upcoming X-Men movies as they figured out how to work the Fox characters into Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe. The standalone “Gambit” movie was one casualty, and Tatum has never been able to look at Marvel in the same way.
“Once ‘Gambit’ went away, I was so traumatized,” Tatum said. “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.”
Best of IndieWire
Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Solve the daily Crossword
