Gambit's Cameo In Deadpool & Wolverine 'Didn't Quite Fit,' But Excited The Writers Anyway

The cat has been let out of the bag. Not that it was a terribly well kept secret after two weekends in theaters, but now Ryan Reynolds has shared official photos of Channing Tatum making his debut as Gambit in "Deadpool & Wolverine." It marks the end of a long, long journey for Tatum, who was first announced to play the role of the fan-favorite mutant in 2014 as part of Fox's "X-Men" universe. That never came to pass, but then this opportunity came along. It all worked out, even though the actor's role as Gambit didn't quite fit with what the filmmakers were doing.

On a recent episode of the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast, director Shawn Levy went into spoiler territory to discuss the finer points of "Deadpool & Wolverine." In discussing Tatum's surprise debut as Gambit, Levy explained that his appearance didn't quite fit in the same way that Wesley Snipes' return as Blade did, for example. As Levy explained:

"The Gambit piece, I remember bringing that up early. And it didn't quite fit, right? Because if we're doing legacy heroes [with Elektra and Blade], here's a character who never got to begin, who never got in the game. That instantly got us excited as a writing team because you could allow Gambit to zig when everyone else was zagging. So people are talking about their contributions and their history, and Gambit's like, 'Well, I never really started.'"

Indeed, Tatum's dream of suiting up as Gambit never came to pass despite spending years developing a script for a potential solo film. It went through many iterations, but the "Gambit" film would have featured the villain Mister Sinister, which was something teed up in the "X-Men" universe that never paid off.

Fortunately, Reynolds, Levy, and the brass at Marvel Studios decided to make "Deadpool & Wolverine" a trip through the multiverse. More specifically, it served as something of a goodbye to Fox's "X-Men" universe. That's what allowed Hugh Jackman to return as Wolverine. It also opened the door to finally fulfill this dream for Tatum. "I thought I had lost Gambit forever," as the actor recently put it, thanking Reynolds for the opportunity to finally play the card-throwing mutant.

Speaking further, Levy explained that he was one of the many, many directors who met with Fox about the "Gambit" movie, a list that also included Edgar Wright ("Hot Fuzz," "Baby Driver"). Even though the character didn't fit as well as some of the others did, Levy also said that Tatum's commitment to the role was nothing shy of impressive:

"I was one of, like, 70 directors who, years ago, met with Channing about directing his would-be Gambit movie at Fox, and it never quite happened. But I knew, and Ryan knew — because again, Channing also showed up for us on 'Free Guy' — we knew that this character lived in Chan in such a deep way. I will tell you, I've never, in my whole career, seen a performer more grateful and joyous to be playing a part than Channing when he played Gambit."

The bigger question is whether or not we've seen the last of Tatum's Remy LaBeau. It's likely that Marvel will want to cast a new actor for the forthcoming "X-Men" reboot. But with "Secret Wars" coming up, who knows? Even if nothing more comes of it, Tatum finally got to put his stamp on Gambit. 

"Deadpool & Wolverine" is in theaters now.