Channing Tatum talks on his love for Gambit
By Erik Swann
Before Channing Tatum takes part in Kingsman: The Golden Circle, he explains what makes Gambit his favorite superhero.
Channing Tatum has been attached to Fox’s Gambit movie since 2014, and with the film now starting from scratch, it will still be a while before we see him in the role. Despite the project’s various troubles, Tatum is still fully committed to it, and some recent comments made by the actor might explain why.
While speaking with The Straits Times, Tatum revealed that he’s been a fan of Gambit since childhood. He explained how he used to act like this hero from Marvel comics:
"“There wasn’t a comic store, but the cartoon was on TV and he was this cool Cajun guy…and he was the easiest person to play as a kid because you could just unscrew the broom handle, get a pack of cards and wrap a bandana around your head. We had a lot of fun throwing cards and trying to take our friends’ eyes out across the living room.”"
He also explained that he could relate to the character due to their shared southern backgrounds:
"“He is just cool, man…he is one of the few superheroes that has an actual culture to him. He doesn’t talk like a vanilla American. He is from a specific geo-location, New Orleans, which is a really specific thing.”"
Hearing just how passionate Tatum is about the character is definitely a good sign for the movie. He also makes an interesting point regarding the importance of Gambit’s culture. In the long history of comics, there really have only been a handful of heroes with distinct cultural or ethnic backgrounds.
It’s hard to say when or if the movie will actually see the light of day, but in the film industry, you can never say never. After all, it did take Ryan Reynolds a little over a decade to bring a certain Marvel anti-hero to the big screen, which will get its own sequel in 2018.
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In the meantime, Tatum will be part of Kingsman: The Golden Circle, which will hit theaters on Friday, Sep. 22, 2017. He will play the role of Tequila.