Channing Tatum says Gambit movie has “started over”

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

The long, long, long-gestating GAMBIT movie with Channing Tatum has experienced setback after setback getting to the big screen, becoming infamous as the one comic book movie that actually may not happen. But Tatum, becoming a real Little Engine That Could, has chugged on and has revealed that the movie is truly whipping into shape and that the success of recent comic book movies has helped its chances of release greatly.

During an interview with HeyUGuys for his new movie LOGAN LUCKY, Tatum talked about the writing process for the current draft of GAMBIT, and how all along the movie was trying to be a unique entry in the genre, and how until recently that had been seen as an obstacle to getting it made. But now with other 20th Century Fox superhero movies DEADPOOL and LOGAN pushing boundaries, and reaping the rewards, they can use that momentum to finally bring GAMBIT to life:

We lit a fuse on the first one and just blew it completely out of the water. I think we got lucky – we got hit with some setbacks and it was all for a good reason. We were trying to do something completely different. We were trying to do something that this genre of movie hasn’t seen before. We kept running into the same problems, and then Deadpool and Logan came through and kicked the doors down. Now we’re really getting to do some of the things we’ve always wanted to do with the script – we’ve just sort of started over.

One of the recent defeats the movie suffered was the loss of EDGE OF TOMORROW director Doug Liman, who bowed out of the project due to a lack of a "connection" to the material, and so he could direct JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK. On top of that, Fox has continuously delayed the film due to scripting issues, among other things, to the point where it has been residing in some sort of cinematic purgatory. But perhaps now with a new universe of characters Fox is trying to establish with Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), the X-Force and more X-Men movies, the studio may be more anxious than ever to get a new character in the mix. Tatum seems to be confident the script is heading in the right direction, and next all they need is a willing director, a fleshed-out cast and then they got themselves a movie.

The GAMBIT movie has been through so many ups and downs that many fans just begin to roll their eyes whenever someone talks about the state of it – sort of like when someone’s crazy uncle starts talking about why aliens are responsible for the Egyptian pyramids. But we should remember Ryan Reynolds had similar problems getting DEADPOOL made, until ultimately it came out and tore the bloody roof off. Maybe GAMBIT can do the same thing, proving the best things come to those who wait. Just don’t make us wait too long.

LOGAN LUCKY with Tatum is in theaters now and he will be in KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE next month.