Over the last year, there have been rumors circulating that Channing Tatum may be taking on the role of Gambit in an upcoming X-Men movie. This past May there was even talk about the possibility of a stand alone movie for the popular character.
Yesterday, Fox Studios officially announced that Remy “Ragin’ Cajun” LeBeau is getting his very own stand alone movie, and that Tatum has indeed been cast to play the role of Gambit.
Tatum took to Twitter last night to clue fans in to the fact he had been cast in the role and let them know when they can expect to catch the movie on the big screen.
How do you say October 7, 2016 in Cajun?
— Channing Tatum (@channingtatum) January 6, 2015
Not only is Tatum starring in the movie, but ComicBook.com reports that he and Reid Carolin, his partner at Free Association, will be co-producing it. Also in the mix in the capacity of producer, are The Donners Company’s Lauren Shuler Donner and Genre Films’ Simon Kinberg.
There is a distinct possibility that fans won’t have to wait until October 7th to catch the “Ragin’ Cajun” in action, as they may get a glimpse of him as early as May 27th 2016. According to Screen Rant, it seems likely that Tatum and Ryan Reynolds will likely both make an appearance in X-Men: Apocalypse – if for no other reason than cross promotion.
Given the fact that Apocalypse is being lauded as possibly the biggest movie in the history of the X-Men franchise, it would make sense to add two such popular characters as Deadpool and Gambit into the fray.
Since Gambit’s first ever appearance in X-Men Annual #14 (cameo appearance), which would be followed by his first full appearance in Uncanny X-Men #266, he has become one of the most popular comic book heroes of all time. In fact, he snagged the 65th spot on IGN’s list of Top 100 Comic Book Heroes.
Combine the character’s popularity with the possibility of successful stand alone feature, and perhaps Gambit may go from one movie to a series. But as a wise man once said, “You all aren’t rabbits, and I’m not a frog, so lets not jump ahead.”