by Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Since Channing Tatum has stolen all his scenes Deadpool Wolverinefans have been clamoring for him to get a solo Gambit movie. This is only normal. Not only was Tatum funny in the last film, but he was tapped to play Fox's character even before the MCU began, so giving him a solo film this late might seem like a no-brainer. However, it's not just in the cards, .my friendsAnd I'm here to tell you why a solo Gambit movie is the worst idea since letting Brett Ratner direct X-Men 3.
This monster is getting old
Channing Tatum is a talented actor with a real passion for the character, so why do I think getting a Gambit movie is a bad idea? For one thing, the 44-year-old is too old for the role. While it made sense for him to be a little older as someone trapped in a multiversal wasteland dead pool & WolverineFans should remember that Marvel wants its biggest stars to sign 10-year contracts. It's clearly in good condition (just ask Magic Mike fans), but do we really want to see Tatum in his mid-50s trying to keep up with his younger co-stars?
When talking about younger stars, it's worth remembering this Disney is gearing up to unleash its merry band of mutants in the MCU and most of them (besides Wolverine, of course) will be played by young new actors in their roles. If Rogue was played by someone in her twenties, it would be embarrassingly awkward to have (Le)beau's age be someone almost twice her age.
Gambit is not an ace in the deck
But let's say having another middle-aged man in the youth team makes sense… Until then, Channing Tatum's Gambit is still dead in the water. This is because Gambit is a bit like the Hulk in that he's best as part of a group where his larger-than-life personality can bounce off others in fun ways. It's fun to see him flirt with Rogue or annoy Wolverine, but without the other colorful characters, Gambit is a guy with a hard-to-decipher accent and a party trick of mutant abilities.
And it's safe to say that Marvel comic writers knew this long before they even considered Channing Tatum for a Gambit movie. Historically, Gambit's solo comic series have not lasted long, and his most memorable comics outside of the X-Men books have been one-shots where he teams up with characters like Storm and dead pool. Real talk: If a character can't maintain enough interest from their biggest fans to keep a solo title going, they'll never generate enough interest among general audiences to make a big-budget movie a hit.
Nobody wants this origin story
This leads to the final problem with Channing Tatum headlining a Gambit film: it will be difficult to turn the character's origin story into the usual one. marvel A movie where Disney expects to sell countless action figures and make a billion dollars at the box office. A film about the machinations of the Thieves' Guild and the Assassin's Guild may have plenty of interesting lore for superfans to consume, but it won't have the buzz that general audiences expect from a franchise filled with killer scenes and countless explosions. Forget Aliens Attacking New York… This will be a movie about two robbers stabbing each other in New Orleans, and that's unlikely to appeal to moviegoers already suffering from superhero fatigue.
For the record, I think Channing Tatum is a great actor, and his performance in it Deadpool Wolverine It was one of the highlights of this successful film. But this is one case where stretching a memorable cameo into an entire solo movie is a terrible idea for several reasons, including that it functionally takes the role away from a younger actor who would fit in better with the upcoming cast. MCU X-Men. Keeping Tatum out of a Gambit movie in the future has another benefit that may be the most important of all: we won't have to hear an accent so indecipherably thick that it requires subtitles for the entire movie.
