Channing Tatum Breaks Down Why His ‘Gambit’ Solo Movie Kept Falling Apart

Few comic book adaptations have lived in limbo as long as the ‘Gambit’ solo movie. Tatum has been attached to the film since about 2014, and for years the project looked like it was always one signature away from happening. Every few months, it seemed, a new director or a new release date would surface.

The saga reached a high point when Gore Verbinski came aboard. The movie was handed a February 14, 2019 release date, and fans briefly believed the Cajun card-slinger was finally headed for theaters. It was not meant to be.

Now Tatum is pulling back the curtain on how it all unraveled. In a recent interview with Screen Rant, he explained that the film had three directors lined up at different points, and that the first split came when the studio and the filmmaker fell out. He said the second attempt stalled because development dragged on so long that he decided he had to get moving, so he separated himself from it. By the time Verbinski nearly got the third version going, Tatum said, he, the studio and the director all started in the same creative place but “grew apart.”

That version of events lines up with the public record. The film began development in 2014 and ultimately involved three directors: Rupert Wyatt, Doug Liman and Gore Verbinski. Liman, for his part, later said he is “all about the script” and just wasn’t feeling it.

Verbinski’s exit came in January 2018, and the split was reportedly “amicable.” That made it all the more surprising, since Verbinski had previously worked with Tatum on ‘Logan Lucky.’ Even a familiar working relationship could not hold the project together. At the time, one outlet noted that going through three directors over three years with a 2019 release date slated called into question whether the movie was really meant to be.

The final blow had nothing to do with creative differences. After the series of directorial shake-ups, Disney’s acquisition of Fox ultimately laid the project to rest. Reports indicate that Disney pulled the plug in 2019.

What makes Tatum’s candor interesting is that there was a path not taken. He has said that Shawn Levy once showed interest in directing an earlier script, but Tatum and his producing partner Reid Carolin weren’t ready yet, with the year being around 2014. The irony is hard to miss, because Levy went on to direct ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ years later, the film that finally gave Tatum his big-screen moment as Gambit.

That cameo changed the conversation for the character entirely. Despite the solo film’s cancellation, Tatum got to bring his favorite character to life in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ thanks to Ryan Reynolds. Fans responded so enthusiastically that calls for a standalone movie only grew louder.

Tatum is not done with the character, either. He is set to reprise the role in ‘Avengers: Doomsday,’ which opens in theaters on December 18. He has teased a toned-down Cajun accent so the character is easier to understand, and reports say an injury to his leg on set means his stunt double handles his combat scenes.

As for the solo movie, nothing has been confirmed. Tatum has indicated that he is still “fighting” for the film and waiting on a very good director to make it a reality. A German outlet summarizing the same report noted that there is no confirmed release date for a ‘Gambit’ solo film.

For now, ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ will have to serve as the proving ground. If audiences embrace Tatum’s Remy LeBeau on the biggest stage Marvel has to offer, the dream of a ‘Gambit’ movie that survives its own development process might just get one more draw from the deck.