Channing Tatum Stopped Watching Marvel Movies After Disney Killed His Hopes of Playing His Favorite Superhero
One of the most gifted actors in the business, Channing Tatum has amassed a devoted following over the years thanks to his memorable roles in movies like Magic Mike, 21 Jump Street, and The Lost City. It was said that the actor was finally prepared to play a superhero. The actor never ceases to astound people with his abilities.
Tatum, however, had a certain role in mind that he aspired to play, but it never materialized. As a result, the actor experienced severe trauma and is now unable to watch Marvel films. Let’s learn more.
Also read: Channing Tatum Came Clean About His Feelings For Salma Hayek After Their Viral ‘Magic Mike’ Moment
Channing Tatum’s dream to play Gambit was shattered
Actor Channing Tatum, in an interview with Variety, discussed an abandoned project from 2016 that has caused him a lot of hurt and trauma. He mentioned that he was set to play the X-Men character Gambit in his own raunchy solo movie, but the movie was stuck in development for years.
He noted that the movie was set up at Twentieth Century Fox in 2016 and the actor along with his longtime producer partner Reid Carolin were set to direct the movie, but the studios didn’t want them. Tatum said,
“The studio really didn’t want us to direct it. They wanted anybody but us, essentially, because we had never directed anything.”
In talking about his decision to direct with Reid Carolin, Tatum explained that they wanted their next thing to be something that was their story, that they did, and not just make something because they could.
The actor also pointed out that he was ready to let go of the director’s part from his end because he just wanted to bring the character to life and he loved the script so much. The movie was set to be rated R and mimic the Deadpool series.
Channing Tatum talks about X-Men character Gambit
The actor, who was highly impressed by the script, spoke about the character by sharing;
“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 shit’s just fly, bro! This shit walked down the Paris runway last year.’ He’s just wearing the stuff that’s so dope because he loves fashion.”
Talking about the character having Deadpool’s tone, Carolin said,
“We wanted to make a romantic comedy superhero movie. The thesis was that the only thing harder than saving the world is making a relationship work.”
He added that they were right on the one-yard line, noting that they had cast the film, opened up a production office, and were almost on their way to shoot in New Orleans.
Why did Channing Tatum stop watching Marvel movies?
According to reports, the movie was axed after Disney merged with Fox back in 2019 and then the movie became the casualty of the takeover of the corporation. The producer friend noted, “Disney had just gotten the ‘X-Men’ from Fox. I think they needed to redesign X-Men from the ground up.”
The movie’s suffering had made Tatum incredibly sad, as he shared in the interview,
“Once ‘Gambit’ went away, I was so 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 so sad. It was like losing a friend because I was so ready to play him.”
Carolin, however, seems hopeful for the project as he said that they wish the makers would reconsider their decision to axe the movie because it’s a great movie and maybe someday in the future, they can make it.
When asked if he could play the character of Gambit now, Tatum said that, of course, he would love to play the character of Gambit if given a chance, because he deeply loved that character and story, but noted that maybe they shouldn’t direct it because, according to him, maybe it was hubris on their part.
Gambit appeared in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, in which actor Taylor Kitsch played the character who was skilled at playing cards and had the power to manipulate kinetic energy.
Source: Variety
