Yahoo Movies Channing Tatum thought he'd 'lost Gambit' before Deadpool and Wolverine
Channing Tatum has shared an emotional expression of gratitude with Ryan Reynolds after being given the chance to finally play Gambit on the big screen in Deadpool and Wolverine.
The actor portrays the card-wielding superhero in the threequel after years of trying and failing to do so for 20th Century Fox. He was meant to play the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine but had to drop out because of a scheduling conflict, Taylor Kitsch took the part, and he later signed on for a solo movie in 2014 that ended up in development hell.
Ultimately, Tatum's Gambit movie was officially cancelled after Disney acquired 20th Century Fox in 2019. So the opportunity to play the character in Deadpool and Wolverine meant so much to Tatum that he shared his thanks on social media because he thought he had "lost" the character.
"These pictures are almost 10 years apart to the day," the Magic Mike star wrote in a post of pictures of him with Reynolds at San Diego Comic Con in 2014 and 2024. "I sat in the audience when Ryan Reynolds showed his first peek of Deadpool 1 to the world and I think I ran back stage right after and found him and I think I just hugged him and was like holy s**t you did it man. It’s perfect.
"I didn’t know him really at all back then. But since then I can say that there is almost no one that has had my back in this industry more than [Ryan Reynolds]."
He went on: "I thought I had lost Gambit forever. But he fought for me and Gambit. I will owe him probably forever. Cause I’m not sure how I could ever do something that would be equal to what this has meant to me. I love ya buddy."
Tatum also took the chance to thank director Shawn Levy for his work on the film, writing: "Truly such a brilliant creator on every single level. All things happen for a reason. I’m so grateful to be in this movie. It’s a masterpiece in my opinion. And just pure bad ass joy. I was literally screaming in the theater. LFG!!"
These pictures are almost 10 years apart to the day. I sat in the audience when Ryan Reynolds showed his first peek of Deadpool 1 to the world and I think I ran back stage right after and found him and I think I just hugged him and was like holy shit you did it man. It’s perfect.… pic.twitter.com/B5viY2f7nl
— Channing Tatum (@channingtatum) July 30, 2024
The actor isn't the only one that was given the chance to play a beloved character onscreen, Wesley Snipes was also able to reprise his role as Blade despite thinking it would never happen.
Read more: MCU
Emma Corrin felt 'pressure' following in Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy’s footsteps
Deadpool and Wolverine hailed as MCU at its 'best' after star-studded premiere
1998's Blade is effectively the first Marvel superhero movie, with Snipes making the vampire hunter iconic over the course of the film and its sequels 2002's Blade and 2004's Blade: Trinity. While there was talk of Snipes returning for a fourth movie this never came to pass, and in the end Snipes was resigned to it until Reynolds messaged him one day saying he wanted to talk.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly about his return, Snipes revealed: "I did not think it was possible. I didn’t think we would be able to pull it off. I didn’t think that Marvel was into it, Disney was into it — also because they had Mahershala [Ali] cast for the next upcoming version of it…
"I thought it didn’t make sense to me, but [when] you get a call from Ryan Reynolds out of the blue after 20 years, you go, ‘Okay, I got to take this call. Let’s see what this is about.’ He told me the idea…They said ‘yes’ and ‘it’s a go.’ ‘If you’re in, we’re in.’ Here we are."
Deadpool and Wolverine is out in cinemas now.
