Channing Tatum Says 'Gambit' Will be an Anti-Hero’s Origin Story
Channing Tatum recently spoke with Empire magazine where the topic of his upcoming lead role in the X-Men spin-off movie, 'Gambit,' was discussed.
Tatum makes it evidently clear the movie will be more of an unconventional character-driven movie of anti-hero, Remy LeBeau, who Tatum will portray.
“Josh Zetumer just turned in the first draft of the script, and it’s killer,” says Tatum. “None of us were sure how he was going to deal with the X-Men world. But we’re going to be changing some of the tropes of these movies. It’s always about saving the world, but maybe we’re going to shift things a little bit. There’s so many ways you can take an origin story. You could do it like ‘Batman Begins,’ or a different take and go the Guardians of the Galaxy route. All I can say is, I’m super excited.”
Like many Hollywood stars these days, Tatum has yet to cement his name to a franchise character. His star has shone brightly these past years after his turns in the two Jump Street movies, and his excellent dramatic portrayal of wrestler Mark Schultz in Bennett Miller's, Foxcatcher. But has Tatum finally found his suitable action franchise role?
"I love Gambit,” said Tatum. “I grew up in the South: my father’s from Louisiana. We’d go to New Orleans and I heard all the dialects. It felt so different from the rest of America; it has its own ancient culture. So I identified with that. And he always felt the most real of the X-Men to me. He’s kind of a tortured soul and he’s not a good guy. But he’s not a bad guy, either. He walks his own path. And of course he plays cards and drinks and is a martial-arts badass!”
Gambit will be produced by Tatum and his creative partner Reid Carolin, along with X-Men franchise stewards Simon Kinberg and Lauren Shuler Donner. The screenplay is written by Joshua Zeutumer (RoboCop) from a Chris Claremont treatment. So far, no director is attached to the project. Gambit is set for a October 7, 2016 release.
