Lizzy Caplan, a star of the canceled Marvel project Gambit, revealed new details on what the film would have been if made. Magic Mike star Channing Tatum would have played the title role of Gambit, which, of course, we all knew. But what we didn’t know was that Marvel’s Gambit was going to be a 1930s-style screwball romantic comedy with Tatum in the middle of it all, according to Caplan. However, Tatum finally got to play his beloved character in Deadpool & Wolverine—and that was kind of a screwball romantic comedy, so at least we have that.
Caplan shared, “”They wanted to do, like, a ’30s kind of screwball romantic comedy set in that world, which would have been really fun.” And honestly, we know Tatum can do charming, romantic comedy lead, so that plus superhero would have been extra amazing.
Gambit started ideation in 2014, staying in development hell until 2019, when Disney shelved the Channing Tatum project indefinitely. Caplan’s role in the film is unknown, but she revealed the film had progressed significantly until Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox. Originally, people thought the film never made it past script development, but Caplan revealed that it went much further. She shared
IIt was a really cool idea. It’s kind of odd that it got scrapped. Those movies don’t seem to ever get scrapped, but it did. We got down the road, we were gonna shoot it. I think there was a start date. I had had meetings with Channing, and there were a couple different…we had a director, then we didn’t, but I had multiple meetings with Channing and the other producers.
Tatum has also expressed sadness over the cancellation of the film. Honestly, sadness is an understatement. Due to his love for Gambit, Tatum stopped watching Marvel films. Simon Kinberg, a producer for the film, echoed Caplan’s thoughts about the movie’s genre, saying it would have a “romantic or sex comedy vibe” in a quote to IGN. Screenwriter Reid Carolin previously described the project as “mutant Goodfellas.” Just give us (and Channing Tatum) the Gambit movie already, you cowards!
After Tatum’s appearance as Gambit in Deadpool & Wolverine, Disney is reportedly very happy with his performance. Ryan Reynolds stated, “I honestly don’t know what goes on behind closed doors in the bookkeeping sessions at Marvel, but I do know that they’re obsessed with him in that role.” Hopefully, it’s a precursor of what’s to come, and a Gambit movie will be back on the cards soon. Having proven himself in the role already, maybe Disney will be more inclined to make a Gambit film come to life these days.