Channing Tatum has confirmed he will play the card-throwing superhero Gambit despite speculation that he might be set to quit the project.
Reports last week suggested the Magic Mike star’s chances of playing the mutant antihero were rapidly unravelling in the face of an impasse with studio Twentieth Century Fox. But the Hollywood Reporter now says the deal has been done.
Tatum, who grew up in the bayous of Mississippi, has always appeared keen to portray the Louisiana-born superhero, also known as Remy LeBeau. Last month he appeared at San Diego’s Comic Con to promote Gambit, a spin-off from Fox’s popular X-Men franchise. The reported impasse was a surprise to many Hollywood observers.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, there was a disagreement over fees. Fox also sees Gambit as a central character in its next wave of X-Men movies, so has been pushing Tatum to sign up for an extended stint. So far, the invincible, adamantium-clawed mutant, Wolverine, has been the central figure in the seven-film series, but Hugh Jackman has said he plans to retire from the role.
Fox has another A-lister on board for the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse in the shape of Jennifer Lawrence, but the Oscar-winner has also hinted at a move into pastures new.
Tatum, one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood following the huge success of the first Magic Mike film, would represent a stellar central figure to build a new series of movies around once he has debuted in his own standalone feature. However, he also has plans to move into writing and directing with his production partner, Reid Carolin, following his success as an actor-producer on the Magic Mike films.
Gambit, whose powers include the ability to control kinetic energy, is hardly the best-known superhero in the X-Men canon. But rival studio Marvel has shown it is possible to produce high-grossing films from heroes of such limited notoriety as Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man.
Guardians of the Galaxy outpaced Superman remake Man of Steel last year, with global box-office receipts of $774m (£500m) (against $668m for Henry Cavill’s debut as Kal-El) despite featuring little-known heroes Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon and Groot the talking tree.
Likewise, Lawrence has flourished as shapeshifting mutant Raven Darkhölme/Mystique in recent X-Men films, with film-makers Matthew Vaughn and Bryan Singer beefing up the role in comparison to previous instalments, where the character was portrayed by actor-model Rebecca Romijn.
