Channing Tatum wanted to play Marvel hero Gambit for 20 years. Now he’s hoping Deadpool & Wolverine will help him get his own movie: ‘I pray to God’

• Channing Tatum has come close to playing “X-Men” hero Gambit several times since 2005.

• The actor made a surprise appearance as a Cajun mutant in Deadpool and Wolverine.

• He said he still hopes to star in the solo film “Gambit.”

Channing Tatum has wanted to play Marvel hero Gambit since 2005 and finally got the chance with a surprise appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Now he hopes that he will finally be able to star in a solo film “Gambit”.

An early draft of 2006’s “X-Men: The Last Stand” featured Gambit, and Channing Tatum was chosen to play the Cajun mutant who can wield kinetic energy. However, the character was written out of the script and Tatum did not confirm his brief involvement in the sequel until 2014.

Due to scheduling conflicts with “GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” Tatum also missed out on the role of Gambit in 2009’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” Over the years, he tried several times to reprise “Gambit” with 20th Century Fox. -Solo film to be made, but it never came to fruition.

In 2024, Tatum made a memorable (and memorable) appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine as Gambit, wearing the comic-accurate outfit of the character -23 (Dafne) in several scenes alongside Blade (Wesley Snipes), Elektra (Jennifer Garner), and X Keen).

“Deadpool & Wolverine” can provide all of this fan service because it takes place in the multiverse. The film combines different eras of Marvel films into a wildly successful summer blockbuster that grossed nearly $1 billion within the first two weeks of its release, according to Box Office Mojo.

Fans loved Tatum’s tongue-in-cheek role in the film and now he’s hoping it will give him the chance to star in his long-awaited solo film.

Tatum told Variety on Thursday at the “Blink Twice” premiere: “I really hope so. From your mouth to God’s ears. Write it into life, my friend. Please.”

He added: “Of course I said it. I’ve said I want it for the last ten years. It’s in the hands of Bob Iger and Kevin Feige. I pray to God.”

It’s entirely possible that Disney CEO Bob Iger and Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige could give Tatum his “Gambit” movie, since Disney owns the rights to the “X-Men” characters after it was sold to 20th Century Fox Bought in 2019.

Tatum’s interest in Gambit mirrors Ryan Reynolds’ own path to Deadpool, which began with a misguided version of the foul-mouthed mercenary in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and has since led to a beloved franchise.

On Instagram, Tatum thanked Reynolds for bringing Gambit back for Deadpool & Wolverine.

“I thought I had lost Gambit forever. But he fought for me and Gambit. I will probably forever owe him,” he wrote.

Read the original article on Business Insider