Deadpool and Wolverine Channing Tatum’s Gambit finally debuted in the MCU after the actor was unable to launch a solo film with Fox, and now the actor has confirmed how that was a much better outcome. Gambit was just one of many cameos in Deadpool and Wolverine designed to drive fans wild, with her on-screen debut taking place alongside a collection of former Marvel movie heroes, including Wesley Snipes’ Blade, Jennifer Garner’s Elektra, and Dafne Keen’s X-23/Laura. While Tatum emphasized Gambit’s nearly incomprehensible Cajun accent, he made a solid case for his aptitude in portraying Gambit in live action.
Channing Tatum made such a positive first impression, in fact, that rumors are now circulating that he will reprise the role in the future of the MCU. Whether Tatum will portray the MCU’s Gambit going forward, including in his own solo film, remains to be seen – though it’s even more likely that he’ll return in Avengers: Secret Wars. If it does, it’s likely to continue to surpass what Fox has planned for the character, if Channing Tatum’s recent musings are anything to go by.
Deadpool and Wolverine’s costume choice is better than the solo film could have been
Channing Tatum Revealed Original Plan for Gambit’s Fox Movie Costume
Deadpool and Wolverine arrived on Disney+ along with the featurette Assembled: The Making of Deadpool & Wolverine. The documentary takes a deep dive into the production of Deadpool and Wolverine through interviews and behind-the-scenes excerpts that describe how the filmmakers put together the film. Tatum was one of the speakers in the featurette, where he talked about being unprepared for a comic-accurate Gambit costume based on his previous experience working on the character, stating:
“I didn’t see this fantasy coming, because when we were planning to do the other Gambit, like, he wasn’t in the X-Men yet, you know. So he wouldn’t have this full armor.”
Tatum’s revelation isn’t surprising. Fox was notoriously averse to portraying costumes with comic accuracy in their X-Men films until much later in the franchise, something Deadpool himself highlights in Deadpool and Wolverine. As the positive response to Gambit and Wolverine’s comical costumes proved, however, this was an unfortunate design choice. It remains likely, therefore, that whatever Gambit had used in his solo film would have been inferior to what was finally portrayed in Deadpool and Wolverine.
Why seeing Gambit’s comic costume is so important in Deadpool and Wolverine
Marvel Studios refuses to be shy about comic book-accurate super-suits
Gambit’s comical costume speaks to Marvel’s willingness to follow comic book precedent and make their characters feel so true to the comics possible. In Fox’s defense, the different times in which its first X-Men films were released were not necessarily conducive to adapting a more grounded vision of a team of superheroes dressed as “yellow elastane.“However, the fact that Marvel Studios enthusiastically embraces ostentatious comic book designs today shows how far the comic book movie genre has come, as they have become a point of pride.
This is also a great sign of how the franchise intends to handle the X-Men. Although some of Fox’s mutants wore slightly more comical costumes in films like X-Men: Age of Apocalypsethe studio consistently stopped dressing the X-Men in comic book costumes. Marvel appears to be signaling with Gambit that it has no such problems for the future – which means audiences should anticipate a particularly vibrant slate when the MCU’s first X-Men projects finally make their way into the MCU’s next saga.
Deadpool and Wolverine’s Gambit Choices Make Their Live-Action Future Look Brighter Than Ever
Gambit is in prime position to be the first of the MCU’s X-Men
Gambit’s costume isn’t the only thing that looks brilliant. Deadpool and Wolverine showed that Gambit is an immensely fun character who can thrive in an MCU setting. Gambit’s action sequences during the resistance’s Hail Mary in the Void were among the most fun to watch in the film, with a comic-accurate power set to match his comic-accurate costume on full display. All of this points to a successful future for the character – which the teased film will likely take place with Gambit’s post-credits scenee, which shows Gambit smiling knowingly at the viewer as a portal opens behind him.
Furthermore, unlike half of the other resistance members, Gambit’s central role in the Deadpool and Wolverine in place of other X-Men (besides Wolverine, of course) put him at the forefront of the team. At this point, Tatum’s Gambit is actually the only X-Man to appear in the MCU who wasn’t reprising his role from Fox’s X-Men franchise. This makes Gambit the MCU’s first original X-Manwhich fits perfectly into what is expected to be an entirely new team when Marvel finally adapts the X-Men properly in the future.