Channing Tatum has said he’s “too traumatised” to watch Marvel films after his pitch for X-Men spinoff Gambit fell through.
Discussing the project in an interview with Variety, the actor explained Gambit was in development for four years after he had written the script with his producing partner Reid Carolin.
“The studio really didn’t want us to direct it,” Tatum said. “They wanted anybody but us, essentially, because we had never directed anything.”
He went on, describing the character: “He could pull anything off. Most superheroes, their outfits are utilitarian. Batman’s got his belt. Gambit’s like, ‘No, this shit’s just fly, bro! This shit walked down the Paris runway last year.’ He’s just wearing the stuff that’s so dope because he loves fashion.”
The actor explained that the project fell through when Disney merged with Fox, who they first pitched to in 2016, as Disney inherited the X-Men franchise from Fox and were aiming for a different strategy for the franchise.
“Once Gambit went away, I was so traumatised,” Tatum said, explaining he couldn’t watch the Avengers films. “I shut off my Marvel machine. I haven’t been able to see any of the movies. I loved that character. It was just too sad. It was like losing a friend because I was so ready to play him.”
Elsewhere, Channing Tatum will be returning to screens for a third Magic Mike film called Magic Mike’s Last Dance, with the original film’s director Steven Soderbergh back to helm the project.
