Mister Sinister was supposed to be in the Channing Tatum Gambit movie

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Once upon a time, Channing Tatum was supposed to lead a standalone GAMBIT film. The project had been teased on and off for years, with Tatum even making an appearance with other Marvel stars at San Diego Comic-Con. The movie appeared to fall into development hell and with the Disney/Fox merger landing the 20th Century Fox Marvel characters under the MCU banner, we'll likely never see the Channing Tatum Gambit role that could have been. That doesn't mean we can't reminisce on what may have been and that is what producer Simon Kinberg is doing in regards to a missed opportunity of a major villain appearance that would've taken place in the GAMBIT film.

During a discussion with "IGN", Kinberg discussed a post-credit scene from 2016's X-MEN: APOCALYPSE which included iconic X-Men villain, Mister Sinister. While fans knew that the scene hinted at his potential reveal, Kinberg explains that the plan was to fully introduce him in Channing Tatum's GAMBIT:

"We had a tease of it at the end of Apocalypse. The Essex Corp is something that you see in a tag at the end of Apocalypse. We had talked about doing something with him, and I won't get into the specifics of it since it's no longer a 20th Century Fox property and now it's a part of the MCU. I have no idea what the plan is. But Mister Sinister was going to be part of the Gambit movie starring Channing Tatum."

It's really surprising that Mister Sinister hasn't made a live-action appearance yet, especially considering he's one of the most popular villains in the "X-Men" canon. The character was first mentioned as the employer behind the team of assassins known as the Marauders in "The Uncanny X-Men" #212 (December 1986) and is first seen in silhouette in the following issue, #213. Mister Sinister would go on to make his first full appearance in "The Uncanny X-Men" #221 (September 1987). Real name Nathaniel Essex, the character was a biologist in Victorian England who developed advanced theories on human evolution. Eventually, he allied himself with Apocalypse, an immortal mutant who has witnessed virtually the whole of human history. Apocalypse transformed Essex into an ageless being at the cost of what remained of his humanity. With his new abilities, Essex took on the new name Sinister. The character would go on to be featured in popular character arcs featuring Cyclops, Jean Grey, and the birth of Cable. Even though he wasn't a presence in the live-action films, the character was featured several times in a popular capacity on the 90s X-Men animated series.

What happened to the Channing Tatum Gambit movie?

The GAMBIT movie was in various stages of development ever since the popular character's live-action debut in 2009's X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE. Tatum certainly seemed passionate about playing the role but it's a film that will likely never see the light of day, especially since Marvel Studios shelved the project once Disney acquired Fox.

Maybe the MCU will use Mister Sinister at some point and it's possible that Gambit is in their future too. The project as we knew it is likely dead but it is interesting to hear where they were thinking of going with it. Would YOU have liked to see Mister Sinister appear in Channing Tatum's GAMBIT? Do YOU think he's a villain the MCU should explore?