Channing Tatum on His Long-Awaited Marvel Debut in “Deadpool & Wolverine”
Spoiler alert for those of you who haven’t seen Deadpool & Wolverine, which is now playing in theaters.
Channing Tatum spent years trying to get a film made in which he’d star as Gambit, the explosive card-dealing member of the X-Men first created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee and introduced in “The Uncanny X-Men” in 1990. Gambit was a key member of the X-Men the beloved 1990s animated series X-Men: The Animated Series that ran from 1992 to 1997 (a sequel series, X-Men: 97, is streaming on Disney+), and Tatum worked for four years trying to give the character a proper standalone film with producer Reid Carolin, but the project was scuttled when Disney acquired Fox in 2019. Then, years later, Ryan Reynolds gave him a shot at suiting up as the Louisianan mutant with a knack for conjuring kinetic energy.
Tatum took to Twitter to share side-by-side images of him and Reynolds at Comic-Con—the first was nearly ten years ago, when Reynolds first debuted Deadpool, and the second was this past weekend when Deadpool & Wolverine opened to staggering, record-breaking numbers and Tatum debuted as Gambit in a delightful, fairly meaty cameo.
These pictures are almost 10 years apart to the day. I sat in the audience when Ryan Reynolds showed his first peek of Deadpool 1 to the world and I think I ran back stage right after and found him and I think I just hugged him and was like holy shit you did it man. It’s perfect.… pic.twitter.com/B5viY2f7nl
— Channing Tatum (@channingtatum) July 30, 2024
“I will owe him probably forever,” Tatum said in his post. “Cause I’m not sure how I could ever do something that would be equal to what this has meant to me. I love ya buddy.”
Tatum was one of several high-profile actors to make a cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine, joining Chris Evans (not as Captain America, but as Fantastic Four member Johnny Storm), Jennifer Garner (reprising her role of Elektra), and Wesley Snipes (reprising his role as Blade). Gambit, Elektra, Blade, and Laura (Dafne Keen) are all hiding out in the Void, the cosmic wasteland where the Time Variance Authority sends people they think are a threat to the Sacred Timeline, where villain Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) rules supreme.
“All things happen for a reason,” Tatum wrote. “I’m so grateful to be in this movie. It’s a masterpiece in my opinion. And just pure bad ass joy. I was literally screaming in the theater. LFG!!”
For more on Deadpool & Wolverine, check out these stories:
Let’s Talk About Those Insane “Deadpool & Wolverine” Cameos
Ryan Reynolds & Hugh Jackman Surprise Comic-Con Fans With “Deadpool & Wolverine” Screening
“Deadpool & Wolverine” Critical Reaction: Killer Chemistry Equals Bloody Good Fun
Featured image: SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 25: Channing Tatum speaks onstage during “Marvel Studios: The Ultimate Deadpool & Wolverine Celebration Of Life” panel during 2024 Comic-Con International at San Diego Convention Center on July 25, 2024 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
