HUGE SPOILERS FOR DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE AHEAD
LIKE, ENORMOUS
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
Deadpool And Wolverine has officially been released in theaters. It is breaking box office records. Audience members are going gaga over its extreme violence, offbeat humor, and dog. I thought the movie was good, not great (and it could have been so great), but seeing Jackman and Reynolds team up was worth the price of admission. They are, arguably, two of the most successful casting choices in superhero movie history. Few actors have been able to embody their roles this way, and they were cast during a very different era.
Until 2018, a good chunk of Marvel movies were not made at Marvel. 20th Century FOX held the rights to the likes of the Fantastic Four and, more importantly, the X-Men. FOX created one of the most successful film franchises ever with the mutant heroes from Marvel. There were sequels, spinoffs, toys, video games, you name it! It was through these films that Reynolds and Jackman got their start as Deadpool and Wolverine respectively. So, the company is referenced ad nauseam in the new film.
During the film, our eponymous leads find themselves sent to the Void. This is the land where beings are sent after being pruned from the multiverse. In the MCU show Loki, the void is full of Loki variants and references to the MCU. In Deadpool And Wolverine, the Void is a demolished shrine to 20th Century FOX. It is filled with various actors from FOX’s era of films. Four surprise actors in particular are set up to help our heroes, and one is breaking their silence.
I won’t reveal all four characters, even though one was shown in the final trailer for the film (for some stupid reason). The one I will be talking about is Gambit. Gambit is a card-dealing, stick-wielding, purple-wearing mutant. His powers allow him to imbue objects (and people) with explosive energy, turning them into weapons. He has long been a fan-favorite and a live-action version was left out of the original X-Men films. He finally made it to the big screen in the very forgettable X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The actor playing him was Taylor Kitsch.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is the first film in which Ryan Reynolds appears as Deadpool, albeit an almost unrecognizable version of the character. So, there are plenty of references to the disastrous 2009 film. It should stand to reason that Kitsch could make an appearance in the film as the card-carrying hero. However, the film does not bring in Kitsch. Instead, they focus on someone who spent years lobbying to play the role.
Yes, Channing Tatum finally gets to play Gambit onscreen in Deadpool And Wolverine. He is modeled directly after his comic book counterpart, as we never got to see Tatum bring the character to life before. There was no previous movie to draw from. For that reason, Tatum’s take on the character is more tongue-in-cheek, with references to his bad accent and missed opportunity at being a big-screen hero.
Despite the more jokey take, Tatum has taken to Instagram to reveal how much the appearance meant to him. “These pictures are almost 10 years apart to the day, the actor said on social media, showing two pictures of him with Reynolds that were 10 years apart. “I sat in the audience when Ryan showed his first peek of Deadpool 1 to the world and I think I ran back stage right after and found him and I think I just hugged him and was like holy shit you did it man. It’s perfect. I didn’t know him really at all back then. But since then I can say that there is almost no one that has had my back in this industry more than Ryan.”
The role means a lot to Tatum, as he elaborated in the rest of the post. “I thought I had lost Gambit forever. But he fought for me and Gambit. I will owe him probably forever. Cause I’m not sure how I could ever do something that would be equal to what this has meant to me. I love ya buddy. Shawn Levy as well. Truly such a brilliant creator on every single level. All things happen for a reason. I’m so grateful to be in this movie. It’s a masterpiece in my opinion. And just pure bad ass joy. I was literally screaming in the theater. LFG!!”
Tatum does a fantastic job with the role. It is likely different than what we would have seen had he gotten to make a solo film, but he fits in perfectly in Deadpool And Wolverine and is easily one of the highlights of the movie.