Channing Tatum was supposed to play Gambit in Fox's X-Men franchise, and now Deadpool 3 is the last chance to save his future. The Deadpool franchise has always had a unique ability to reference Fox's X-Men universe in unexpected ways. Whether that meant referencing the franchise's confusing timelines or having characters appear from the past, Ryan Reynolds has shown an appreciation for the mythology while making fun of it. Deadpool 3 could be the final chance to do this before Wade Wilson joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The confirmation that Hugh Jackman's Wolverine is returning opens the door for more.

Now that Ryan Reynolds got his wish of having Wolverine in Deadpool 3, he could look to bring other members of the Fox X-Men movies to the sequel, including those who never actually debuted. The sequel now represents the final chance for Channing Tatum's Gambit to appear. He spent years developing a solo movie for the Ragin Cajun, but it never materialized. Deadpool 3 is the perfect place to get Channing Tatum's Gambit in a movie at long last. It would continue the franchise's ability to reference the X-Men franchise's past, but Reynolds and Tatum are also friends in real life (and even worked together on Free Guy).

Related: Deadpool 3’s Plot Might Have Already Been Revealed In 2021

Why Channing Tatum’s Gambit Movie Never Happened

MCU Xmen movies keep channing tatum as Gambit

The history of Channing Tatum's Gambit movie that never happened is quite complicated. Fox began planning the solo film in 2014 amid plans to have Tatum debut as the mutant in X-Men: Apocalypse. The studio even gave Gambit an October 2016 release date as the script was being worked on and Tatum looked to recruit a high-profile director, but that proved to be very challenging. Rupert Wyatt, Doug Liman, and Gore Verbinski all spent time attached to Gambit before leaving due to various conflicts. The Gambit origin movie's multiple iterations even included Léa Seydoux and Lizzy Caplan joining the project.

The hopes of Channing Tatum's Gambit movie happening dwindled once reports of the Disney/Fox merger began to circulate. While Tatum and the film's producers attempted to keep hope alive and develop the script further, Gambit was officially canceled by Disney in May 2019. The move was done as Disney looked to finish all of Fox's X-Men movies that were already made and then allow Marvel Studios to begin rebooting the characters. Despite Gambit's cancelation, Channing Tatum has maintained his interest in playing the character if the right opportunity came along, such as Deadpool 3.

How Channing Tatum’s Gambit Could Fit In Deadpool 3

Channing Tatum as Gambit

Fitting Channing Tatum's Gambit into Deadpool 3 could happen in a handful of ways depending on how the film's story ultimately shakes out. Ryan Reynolds previously alluded to plans for the film to be a road trip team-up of Deadpool and Wolverine. If that is still the baseline for Deadpool 3's story, it would be quite easy for this road trip to include an encounter with Channing Tatum's Gambit in some fashion. The good news for Channing Tatum's potential Gambit appearance is that it can work in either the X-Men universe or the MCU. Since he never appeared before, Deadpool 3 has complete freedom when it comes to introducing Channing Tatum as Gambit.

Next: Every Mutant Confirmed To Exist In The MCU

Key Release Dates