Somewhere Taylor Kitsch may need a hug. If you’re near him, go in for a bro grab. His version of Gambit is no more: Channing Tatum will officially take over as the beloved thief and mutant who won the heart of the fair Rogue in the X-Men comics in the upcoming X-Men Apocalypse before graduating to his own solo movie.
Hollywood Reporter confirmed that the long-rumored deal was officially set in stone, after Tatum himself confirmed that talks were underway and producer Lauren Schuler-Donner implied the deal was imminent only yesterday.
Tatum will be the second actor to play Gambit on the big screen, after the character premiered in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine as a fully grown man played by Taylor Kitsch in 1979. So either X-Men Apocalypse will take place decades ago or once again Fox is planning to screw with its own continuity, kind of like when they showed Emma Frost as a teenager in 1979 before inexplicably casting a grown woman to play her in the 1960s.
No director, writer, supporting cast or release date for Gambit has been confirmed just yet, but we’ll be back as soon as that news breaks.
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and the host of The B-Movies Podcast and The Blue Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
