Who knew 2024 would be the year when Gambit finally got his flowers? Remy Lebeau’s big year started with a small-screen return in a crop top for X-Men ‘97, and he’s been at the center of conversations surrounding the box office-dominating sequel Deadpool and Wolverine thanks to Channing Tatum, who popped up at SDCC 2024 with a masterful throwback to his Gambit-fueled 2015 appearance that went unfulfilled.
Marvel Studios’ return to San Diego for this year’s Comic-Con was as massive as can be, with the reveal of Robert Downey Jr.’s flipped-around return to the MCU, new Captain America: Brave New World footage, and more surprises. Even with all Avengers-related updates for the upcoming Marvel movies schedule, it would have been impossible for any other project to top D&W’s buzz, which culminated in the all-star panel “Marvel Studios: The Ultimate Deadpool & Wolverine Celebration Of Life.” It was here where Channing Tatum took the stage in the familiar T-shirt seen below.
For those feeling a sense of deja vu (as pronounced wit da strongest South Louisiana accent you got, cher), you’re not in some weird multiversal mix-up where the Berenstain Bears served as the first Fantastic Four. Rather, this was Tatum’s sweet and amusing way of calling back to an era when it seemed like a Gambit movie was actually going to happen in the wake of X-Men: Apocalypse, Deadpool and Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four.
Back in 2015, 20th Century Fox gave San Diego Comic-Con attendees a giant panel promoting a slew of projects that haven’t exactly remained conversation-starters, from Victor Frankenstein to Hitman: Agent 47 to the second Maze Runner flick. And among the stars present for the panel was Channing Tatum, whose hair and pants choice marked the big differences between his looks. Check him out next to fellow Gambit enthusiast Ryan Reynolds below.
SPOILERS FOR DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE ARE BELOW THE FOLLOWING PICTURE, SO BE WARNED IF YOU HAVEN’T YET WATCHED!!
Everybody's all clued in on this being spoiler territory now, yeah? Great.
The whole reason Channing Tatum showed up at Comic-Con in a Gambit shirt is, of course, because he finally did make quite a few dreams come true by popping up as the thieving mutant for a gobsmacking cameo in Deadpool and Wolverine. While it may not result in any live-action superhero movies in the future, seeing Gambit on the big screen in an official MCU capacity (and one that doesn't reflect Taylor Kitsch's forgettable portrayal in X-Men Origins: Wolverine) is still the best kind of olive branch.
The question now is at what point should someone start writing an Old Man Gambit screenplay that would likely take another 15 years to get a studio thumbs up, so that Tatum can eventually play the role for real?
