Marvel fans are ready for Avengers: Doomsday. They have been ready ever since Marvel Studios officially confirmed the movie's existence at San Diego Comic-Con in 2024, announcing that Robert Downey Jr. would take over as the Multiverse Saga's new villain Doctor Doom, and they are more than ready now as the minutes tick down until the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie's highly-anticipated release.
The film is set to feature a lot of familiar faces from the world of Marvel movies - movies that even predate the MCU franchise. And that is the beauty of the Multiverse Saga as it allows the stars of the classic X-Men movies to reprise their roles. Yes, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Kelsey Grammer, James Marsden, Alan Cumming, and Rebecca Romijn are all back as their beloved characters - getting the same chance that Hugh Jackman got to reprise his iconic Wolverine role in an MCU film just a few years ago.
However, one star from the X-Men franchise film won't be reprising his role, as Marvel Studios officially recast that role so that a long-awaited fan-casting could come to life. And it will come to life one more time in Avengers: Doomsday.
Channing Tatum took over the role of Gambit in the MCU (and he will return in Avengers: Doomsday)
Gambit will officially get the chance to team up with the X-Men in live-action for the first time ever, but when Channing Tatum brings that to life in Avengers: Doomsday, he won't be doing it as the first actor to play Gambit. See, there was a Gambit in the Fox movie franchise, as Taylor Kitsch played the card-wielding mutant in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, starring opposite Hugh Jackman's Wolverine in the origin story. Unfortunately, that marked his one and only appearance as the character.
The irony is that it wasn't Marvel Studios' decision to recast the character with Channing Tatum, as that was Fox's plan already. Back before the studio was sold to Disney, Fox had plans to make a Gambit project with Channing Tatum in the role, but after the merger it went away - along with all of the long-term plans for the two-decades-old franchise. However, an opportunity presented itself when Deadpool and Wolverine came to fruition.
The third Deadpool movie was always going to happen, ensuring that one remnant from the Fox X-Men universe lived on in the MCU, but when Ryan Reynolds convinced Hugh Jackman to return as an alternate version of Wolverine, all the possibilities opened up. And, with that, Tatum joined the production as Gambit, bringing to life one of the great what ifs of Hollywood. Although he played the character well, the film definitely leaned into his comedic chops - which was more than allowed in a one-off appearance in Deadpool and Wolverine. With that in mind, it's going to be very interesting to see how he fits into the more serious world of Avengers: Doomsday.
It is somewhat jarring for fans who watched the X-Men movies growing up - and who are very excited to see all of the stars of those movies return in the upcoming film (along with potential reutrns in 2027's sequel Avengers: Secret Wars) - to see so much of those cast members return alongside the actor who almost played Gambit instead of the one who actually did. But that is a testament to two things.
First of all how great Tatum did in Deadpool and Wolverine. His Cajun accent as Remy LeBeau became a viral sensation with fans widely regarding his performance as one of the most enjoyable aspects of a very enjoyable movie.
The second is how fans are still cold towards X-Men Origins: Wolverine even after all these years. The film is widely regarded as the first major misstep for the X-Men franchise and continually finds itself at the lower end of fan-rankings when it comes to that film series. It has nothing to do with Kitsch's performance as Gambit (he was actually extremely charismatic and believable in the role), but more to do with the creative liberties that the film took and its poor portrayals of other characters (particularly Deadpool).
It goes without saying that we're all excited to see Gambit team up with the X-Men in Avengers: Doomsday as it will give life to a moment that Marvel, X-Men, and indeed superhero fans have been waiting to see for decades. Now it happens as he teams up with Earth's Mightiest Heroes (and even battles Shang-Chi) in what is undoubtedly going to be an incredible, memorable adventure. And we can't wait to see it on our screens!
Avengers: Doomsday arrives in movie theaters on December 18, 2026.
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