"Channing Tatum's Gambit Film: A '30s Romantic Comedy in a Superhero Setting"

Channing Tatum's vision for the canceled Gambit movie was to infuse it with a '30s screwball romantic comedy vibe, set against the backdrop of the superhero world, according to Lizzy Caplan. In her interview with Business Insider, the actress, known for her role in Cloverfield, shared insights into the project, which she was set to star in alongside Tatum. She described the concept as "a really cool idea."

Tatum's long-standing ambition to portray the beloved X-Men character, Gambit, faced numerous hurdles before culminating in a surprise cameo in the MCU's blockbuster hit, Deadpool & Wolverine. His earlier attempt to bring a Gambit movie to life was thwarted by the 2019 Disney-Fox merger. Tatum has openly discussed his fears of never getting the chance to play the card-wielding mutant, admitting that the experience left him "traumatized."

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Lizzy Caplan was announced as the female lead for the Gambit movie as early as 2017. In her conversation with Business Insider, she confirmed her involvement and mentioned having meetings with Tatum about the project. "We got down the road, we were gonna shoot it," Caplan revealed, adding, "I think there was a start date."

In 2018, Simon Kinberg, the producer behind the Gambit movie, elaborated on its unique tone to IGN, stating that it would feature a "romantic or sex comedy vibe," which aligned well with Gambit's character traits. "When you look at Gambit," Kinberg explained, "he’s a hustler and a womanizer and we just felt like there was an attitude, a swagger to him, that lent itself to romantic comedy."

Seven years on, Caplan corroborated this vision, saying, "They wanted to do, like, a '30s kind of screwball romantic comedy set in that world, which would have been really fun."

As for the future of Channing Tatum and Gambit, Marvel Studios has yet to make any official announcements. However, the studio has confirmed the eventual integration of the X-Men into the MCU. Last August, Ryan Reynolds, the actor behind Deadpool, stirred excitement among Gambit fans by tweeting a high-quality version of a scene from Deadpool & Wolverine, which was difficult to discern in theaters.

Warning! The following contains spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine.