Channing Tatum Has Talked With Fox About Playing Gambit, Already Practicing His Accent

If Channing Tatum wants to play a superhero, you let Channing Tatum play that superhero. Right?

With Fox readying expansion plans for its X-Men cinematic universe, the studio will be exploring bringing every and any X-Men character to life, whether it's as a part of an ensemble piece like X-Men: Apocalypse or in a standalone movie. Tatum wants a part of that action, not only expressing interesting in playing Gambit but also by telling MTV (via SlashFilm) that he's already met with Fox officials.

I met with Lauren Shuler Donner. And I would love it. Gambit is really the only X-Man I’ve ever loved. I mean, I’ve loved them all, they’re all great, but I guess from being down south — my dad’s from Louisiana, I’m from Mississippi, Alabama, Florida — I don’t know. I just related to him. He’s just kind of suave … He’s the most un-X-Men X-Man that’s ever been in X-Men. Other than maybe Wolverine, who’s like the anti-hero. He’s a thief. He’s not even a hero. He’s kind of walking the line of grey … He loves women and drinking and smoking and stuff, so he’s just a cool guy who happens to have a moral center … I hope it [comes together]. You never know — it’s a weird industry. If the stars align, I would die to play it. I’m already working on the accent. It’s crappy at the moment.

Fox has its work cut out for itself when it comes to expanding this franchise. People know the basic X-Men characters, especially Wolverine, but the average moviegoer isn't familiar with characters like Gambit. Having Tatum play him would be a huge boost for Fox, and I think fans of the character would also be pleased to see Gambit get a better adaption that having Taylor Kitsch play him during a X-Men Origins: Wolverine cameo.