Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday will mark the returns of various heroes from members of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to X-Men veterans. Channing Tatum’s Gambit – who debuted in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine – is back in the fray as well. Details on the Cajun card thrower’s exact role in the plot are being kept under wraps, yet Tatum recently teased his approach to the character this time around. That includes the X-Man’s signature accent, and Tatum is now explaining how he landed on that specific voice.
Gambit is one of the biggest characters featured in D&W, and he certainly managed to make an impression. The fan-favorite hero – whose real name is Remy LeBeau – not only kicks butt in the film but also generates some sweet laughs. Some of the humor is derived from LeBeau’s spicy speech pattern, which is sometimes (intentionally) hard to decode. While it may be funny for audiences (and Ryan Reynolds), Channing Tatum recently explained that formulating that accent was no laughing matter for him:
The accent's a tough one. It's hard to explain that to someone that isn't from the South, isn't from Louisiana. My dad's from New Orleans. I've been around. That accent has a big spectrum. You cannot understand 'em at all, and you can understand 'em at times. So you have to really play with it.
Considering the A-lister’s southern lineage, it seems he was aiming for accuracy when developing the voice of the Louisiana-born mutant. Not only that, but there’s a balance that Tatum has to strike. As he further explained to EW at the Toronto International Film Festival, he “had to really show them that you can still play comedy, you can still play drama.” The voice may have been tricky to achieve, but it sounds like the moment Tatum finally nailed it was so satisfying:
There's a lot of exposition that has to happen in those movies, and you can even do that. So it's been a strange but really gratifying thing. When you're trying to shove a square peg for so long and then finally it just goes [through], then you're like, 'Yes! Alright! Cool. We're off and running now.' So it's fun.
Playing Gambit in Deadpool & Wolverine (which is streamable with a Disney+ subscription) was the realization of a long-held dream for Channing Tatum. For years, Tatum tried to produce a solo film centered around the smooth hero over at Fox, before the Disney acquisition. Those plans ultimately didn’t come to fruition but, thanks to Ryan Reynolds’ efforts, Tatum’s version of Remy finally reached the big screen, and he’s mostly been well received.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it was that popularity that prompted Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige and co. to include Gambit in Doomsday. As a fan, I’m particularly curious to see how he’ll not only mix it up with other X-Men but also how he’ll be received by the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe proper. Just imagine Remy having a conversation with Alexei Shostakov a.k.a. Red Guardian (another character with a thick accent).
Channing Tatum has already confirmed he’s “not gonna go full Cajun” in his upcoming Marvel movie, but I’m excited to see what he does nonetheless. Fans will hear that thick accent when Avengers: Doomsday opens in theaters on December 18, 2026. In the meantime, check out Tatum’s 2025 movie release, Roofman, which hits cinemas on October 10.
