Why Taylor Kitsch's Gambit Only Appeared In X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Director Gavin Hood's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" was designed to usher in a shiny new era for Fox's "X-Men" films. After the studio's original mutant trilogy came to an ignominious end in 2006 with "X-Men: The Last Stand" (a film that saw alleged sexual harasser Brett Ratner replace alleged sexual predator Bryan Singer at the helm), Fox decided to soft reboot the franchise by making a prequel film about Hugh Jackman's Man With the Adamantium Claws. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" even teed up potential spinoffs by introducing Ryan Reynolds as a pre-Deadpool Wade Wilson and Taylor Kitsch as the Ragin' Cajun himself, the smooth-talking, card-chucking thief Remy LeBeau, better known as Gambit.

Pulling what we'd now call a "Black Adam," Hood's prequel did indeed change the hierarchy of Fox's X-Men Universe ... just not in the way it intended. The film's negative critical response and middling box office turnout led to Fox nixing plans for a series of "X-Men Origins" films, including one about Magneto. It also gave them all the more reason to ignore the film's post-credits scene teasing the return of Weapon X — a widely-hated version of Deadpool that stitched the Merc With A Mouth's, well, mouth shut — in favor of green-lighting Reynolds' completely different take on the character (eventually).

As for Kitsch's Gambit? He was never seen again, even after Kitsch became the hottest thing since sliced bread, starring in three major films in 2012 alone ("John Carter," "Battleship," and "Savages"). This also gave Kitsch a handy out when Fox's next wave of X-Men films sought to distance themselves from Hood's prequel. As Kitsch told Digital Spy in 2012, "I've got my plate pretty full with some amazing characters as well. [...] I'd love to do it again, but we're gonna do it right, and we're gonna do it dark if we do."

Kitsch had the same problem Jeremy Renner did during the early 2010s: They're both character actors who Hollywood insisted on trying to make the Next Big Thing. Kitsch proved as much after his three big releases in 2012 all disappointed. Rather than continuing further down the same rabbit hole, he put his talents to better use in projects like the film version of queer activist and writer Larry Kramer's celebrated play "The Normal Heart" and "Top Gun: Maverick" director Joseph Kosinski's true story firefighter drama "Only the Brave."

By the time he emerged as a highlight in the otherwise lackluster "True Detective" season 2, it was obvious Fox had long abandoned Kitsch in favor of pursuing a "Gambit" film spearheaded by Channing Tatum. Kitsch seemed mostly unbothered during a 2017 interview where The Daily Beast asked if he'd gotten a crack at the project before Tatum:

"Um ... no, I didn't have a go. Ever since we finished the movie, it's never really been an option. But no, I wish [Channing] nothing but the best. It was a fun character to play, and I learned a lot working with Hugh [Jackman] and had an amazing time in Australia. I'm sure they're doing their own thing with it, and I'm sure Channing will be great."

Kitch acquits himself as well as could be expected during the hot mess that is "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," but a spinoff film centered on his Gambit would've probably been a misuse of his talents anyway. Gambit is the type of colorful antihero who would be better served by an actor and director both willing and able to go larger than life than Kitsch typically does. It's why the since-abandoned version of "Gambit" starring Tatum and directed by Gore Verbinski sounded ... well, if not necessarily good, then at least pretty wild.