Channing Tatum Boasts “Wild” Unmade ‘Gambit’ Movie Featured “Mutants Having Sex” In R-Rated Romantic Comedy

There were a bunch of “X-Men” spinoffs and offshoots in the works when Disney took over the reins at 20th Century Fox after their big merger, and one of those axed projects was a solo “Gambit” movie that Channing Tatum was desperately trying to put together with multiple script rewrites (some handled by Tatum and his writing partner Reid Carolin) and a revolving door of would-be directors (they were still seeking one when the projects got dusted).

Speaking with Variety, the “Roofman” actor shared more details of the vision for his mature reboot of the Ragin’ Cajun (Canadian actor Taylor Kitsch previously played the role) as it would have done something that really hasn’t been explored in the “X-Men,” including sex scenes between mutants (there was some cheeky sexy time between Wade and Vanessa in “Deadpool” but it wasn’t exactly mutant-on-mutant action) as their version of the character would be more suitable for the “Deadpool” audience and may have led to hypotheical a crossover (before Gambit’s MCU cameo in “Deadpool & Wolverine“).

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“Look, if we’d made our Fox version, that script would’ve never gotten made, ever. It was an R-rated romantic comedy. And when I say R-rated, I mean we went for it. We made Gambit the kind of character who could only exist in a movie with ‘Deadpool.’ We had mutants having sex! It was wild, full-on. That’s something Marvel and Disney would never do. You don’t always know what Disney will be, but you definitely know what it’s not going to be. It’s not gonna be horror. It’s not gonna be sex. But I think Marvel needs that kind of tonal diversity; something to balance the other side. Gambit’s a great opportunity for that. There’s so much you can do with him, and he’s slowly being built into the Marvel psyche. It’s fascinating, and I think one day they’ll figure it out,” Tatum said of his mature Marvel pic that never got in front of cameras due to a slew of production/development hiccups.

Actresses who had been circling key “Gambit” roles were Lizzy Caplan (“The Interview”) and French actress Léa Seydoux (“No Time To Die,” “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”). “It “Gambit” also had a heist spin to the story, with Jon Hamm once tasked to play major franchise villain Mister Sinister (Hamm said he’s still open to the idea for the MCU).

As Tatum alludes to, sex isn’t a huge part of the MCU as the family-friendly nature of the Disney-owned franchise doesn’t exactly allow for it, even though romance and the family unit were key elements of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.” Then again, with “Deadpool & Wolverine” and their “Blade” reboot (said to also be aiming for an R-rating, if it ever gets made), there seems to be more wiggle-room for more mature outings like what Tatum wanted to do with his mutant flick.

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That said, we have no clue what the future hold for Tatum’s Remy as Gambit will have a much bigger role in “Avengers: Doomsday,” but we don’t know if he’ll surivive those events (alongside the follow-up installment “Secret Wars“) and if he’ll be given a shot at that solo film, let alone being part of the cast of the “X-Men” coming from director Jake Schreier (we’re hopeful Gambit and Rogue’s relationship will be finally explored).

Whatever the case, it sounds like Tatum is happy to throw some cards and don the costume once again if given more chances.