Edgar Wright could have directed Channing Tatum’s Gambit but recently explained why he turned down the doomed X-Men spinoff movie.
During an interview, X-Men filmmaker Simon Kinberg revealed to /Film that he had “chased Edgar for X-Men movies.” Naturally curious, /Film reached out to Wright who confirmed that he was indeed offered the chance to direct Gambit but turned it down due to being unfamiliar with the character. “Gambit wasn’t a character I knew too well,” Wright shared. “He appeared after my time reading Marvels — roughly 1985 — 1990 or so. [He] wasn’t one that I knew a lot about and hadn’t really read growing up, so it felt like it was someone else’s dream gig. Maybe he means more to people who watched the [animated] show [X-Men: The Animated Series]? Which again, was after my time.”
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Gambit, a mutant who can mentally create, control, and manipulate pure kinetic energy, first appeared in the 2009 film, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, played by Taylor Kitsch. However, when a Gambit solo film was announced in 2014, Kitsch was not brought back with Tatum instead attached to the role. Tatum was reportedly fiercely committed to making Gambit the next big superhero blockbuster. Besides Wright, directors who were approached to helm Gambit reportedly include Darren Aronofsky, J.C. Chandor, Bennett Miller, and Gareth Evans. After five years in development, the project was canceled in May 2019.
Justice for Channing Tatum’s Gambit Is Coming
Although Tatum never got the chance to portray Gambit in 20th Century Fox’s X-Men film series, the actor will reportedly suit up as the fan-favorite mutant for Deadpool 3, the first installment in the franchise to be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. According to trusted scooper MyTimeToShineHello, Tatum has filmed a cameo as Gambit for the upcoming MCU threequel, although the exact extent of his role in the film remains unknown at this time. There have been multiple reports stating Deadpool 3 will be revisiting all the 20th Century Fox-distributed Marvel movies, including the original X-Men and Fantastic Four films. Other former X-Men actors, such as Halle Berry, Famke Janssen and James Marsden, are also rumored to appear in Deadpool 3.
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The X-Men Are Coming to the MCU
Marvel Studios has reportedly begun setting meetings for pitches from writers for its X-Men reboot with the goal being to fill the position by the top of 2024. At the time of writing, it is unknown which beloved mutants the reboot will focus on, although Wolverine is reportedly not in the mix to appear. During his interview with /Film, Kinberg shared that he hopes Marvel thinks in terms of character when developing its upcoming X-Men film reboot. “If I had one piece of advice, honestly, it is a very cliché thing, but it just is true: The strength of the X-Men is the characters,” he stated.
The X-Men movies are available to stream on Disney+.
Source: /Film
Edgar Wright confirms that Simon Kinberg reached out to him with an offer to direct X-Men’s Gambit, which would have starred Channing Tatum. Read More