Channing Tatum to Star In “X-Men: Apocalypse”

The “22 Jump Street” actor has been connected to the role of the card-slinging mutant ever since last summer, when he first announced his interest in the role.

Since then, “X-Men” producer Lauren Shuler Donner has gone on the record that Tatum is her man to play Gambit — it’s just a matter of making things official.

For all the continued (and by now, baffling) hate that he gets, Tatum has practically acted his way all across the board – drama, romance, action, thriller, comedy, man-beef erotica – and surprised critics almost every time.

Tatum is about to crash the sci-fi genre in a big way with this year’s “Jupiter Ascending,” the new film from The Wachowskis, so provided he surprises us again, he could be in just the right place for a big X-Men movie debut. The question now is: When would we get this Gambit movie?

Recent rumors have suggested that Tatum’s Gambit is part of the design of 2016’s “X-Men: Apocalypse,” the upcoming sequel to “Days of Future Past.” But that’s not what Tatum has in mind; he wants a full-on standalone “Gambit” movie before ever entering the proper “X-Men” equation.

“We’ve talked about it being a standalone, first, and actually trying to change the ‘hero, superhero movie.’ Because Gambit is not your typical hero. He’s a thief. He walks on the gray. I’m hoping we can change it a little bit, and then ultimately feather into the other ones.”

Though no writer or director have been attached to the project, it’s possible that Gambit could be the “Untitled FOX Marvel Movie” which is currently set for release on July 18, 2018.