Channing Tatum reveals that he no longer watches MCU movies since his planned Gambit movie was cancelled. Tatum is perhaps most well known for his roles in films such as 21 Jump Street and the Magic Mike series, however, the actor has recently branched out into directing. Tatum's directorial debut, Dog (co-directed by Tatum's producing partner Reid Carolin) is set to be released on February 18th. The film will follow an Army Ranger and a dog as they race down the Pacific Coast in order to get to a fellow soldier's funeral on time.

Some may not know that Tatum's directorial debut was meant to come much earlier. Back in 2016, Tatum and Carolin were developing a Gambit movie based on the popular X-Men character with 20th Century Fox. Reportedly, the two got very close to actually beginning production on the project, having even cast the whole film. However, in 2019 Fox merged with Disney and Gambit was cancelled, as Disney had their own idea about the direction they wanted to take the X-Men in the future.

Related: MCU's X-Men Movies Should Keep Channing Tatum For Gambit

In a recent interview with Variety, Tatum discussed his disappointment after Gambit was cancelled, and revealed that he has since sworn off MCU films. Tatum stated that after Gambit was cancelled, he felt "so traumatized." According to Tatum, because of this, he hasn't "been able to see any of the [MCU] movies." Tatum went on to state that he had felt so ready to play Gambit, and had felt so much love for the character that after production was halted, it felt "like losing a friend." See his full quote below:

"Once Gambit went away, I was so traumatized. I shut off my Marvel machine. I haven't been able to see any of the movies. I loved that character. I was just too sad. It was like losing a friend because I was so ready to play him."

Channing Tatum in Free Guy

Both Tatum and Carolin remain hopeful that one day they will be able to see their Gambit movie come to the big screen. Carolin has stated that he hopes Disney will reconsider as he believes that its a "pretty great project." He then added "maybe someday." Tatum himself has stated that, if given the chance, he would still love to play Gambit. However, Tatum did go on to admit that if the project was brought back, he would probably pass on directing this time, stating that his and Carolin's initial lobby for the director's chair was most likely "hubris" on their part.

While it is likely that Tatum and Carolin's Gambit film will remain one of the great unmade films, the future is never certain. Perhaps the release of Dog will prove Tatum to be not only a bankable actor, but a competent filmmaker as well, leading to a change of heart from Disney. It's clear that despite their differences, Disney would have no trouble convincing Tatum and Carolin to return to the project. Until then, however, fans of Gambit will have to be satisfied with imagining what could have been, and Disney will have to be satisfied knowing that Tatum isn't watching any of the MCU films.

More: Channing Tatum's Original Hateful Eight Death Was Way Nastier

Source: Variety