One Deadpool and Wolverine casting was nearly 20 years in the making, and it's left me dreaming of what could have been
Jul. 25, 2024Deadpool 3 makes good on a dream Marvel movie casting
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Deadpool and Wolverineis undoubtedly one of the wildest Marvel movies in years. It’s a madcap adventure through the multiverse, bringing with it a whole host of surprise reveals and fan service payoffs that are years in the making. But there’s oneDeadpool and Wolverine cameothat stands out perhaps more so than any other – bringing a dream project to life in a way that simply wasn’t possible in the past.
It’s worth noting that we are about to head into some pretty serious spoiler territory, so if you care about that sort of thing you may want to turn away now. If you’re wondering whether you should go and see the film and discover this reveal for yourself, check out ourDeadpool and Wolverine reviewto help make your decision. Otherwise, we’re about to dive deep into the history of one of the greatest Marvel movies that never got made, and how Deadpool and Wolverine finally made it a (sort of) reality.
Who does Channing Tatum play in Deadpool and Wolverine?
Amid a wild parade of surprise cameos that includes the previously revealed Laura, aka X-23 (Dafne Keen), Jennifer Garner back as Elektra, and Wesley Snipes reprising his role as Blade in Deadpool and Wolverine, none are wilder or weirder than Channing Tatum showing up as Gambit. The reason? It’s not just yet another in a long line of stand-out cameos for Tatum… It’s also a role he’s been waiting nearly 20 years to play.
The role went to Taylor Kitsch, and at least at the time, it seemed like Tatum dodged a bullet there. X-Men Origins was a critical and fan failure, and Kitsch took a lot of knocks for his portrayal of Gambit, even from Tatum who gently criticized his lack of Cajun accent (we’ll come back to that later).
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So, RIP Gambit, right? Wrong, as it turns out. Tatum does finally get to play Gambit in Deadpool & Wolverine, and while Deadpool is usually the one breaking the fourth wall in these movies, nearly every single line Tatum has is a direct joke about the wild development process laid out above. And if a line isn’t about that development process, it’s something said in an impenetrable Cajun accent that drives the guy who is usually the most annoying man in the room, Deadpool, out of his mind. While not explicitly stated, it seems pretty clear that Tatum delivering this realistic but impossible-to-understand dialogue is a direct reference to the time he called out Kitsch.
“I’m from New Orleans, around that area,” Tatum said during a press event forWhite House Down, viaSlashfilm. “My dad’s from New Orleans, and I like to do a Cajun accent. I could do it for real. No knock on Taylor Kitsch, though, ‘cause I actually like his Gambit, but I’ve always lived around Cajun people.” Well, he did it for real, and it purposefully sucked. So… that’s something.
Regardless, it’s a sweet and laugh-out-loud hilarious culmination of 18 years of trying to get a Gambit movie off the floor for Tatum, and failing. Perhaps this stand-out appearance in Deadpool and Wolverine is the thing that will finally make the movie happen? I wouldn’t get Tatum’s hopes up, though. Instead, like Gambit says: laissez les bon temps rouler.
Wondering where to go next? Here’s how to watch all of theMarvel movies in orderonce you’re done with Deadpool and Wolverine.
Alex Zalben has previously written for MTV News, TV Guide, Decider, and more. He’s the co-host and producer of the long-running Comic Book Club podcast, and the writer of Thor and the Warrior Four, an all-ages comic book series for Marvel.
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