Channing Tatum finally became a member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after making his debut as a Gambit in “Deadpool and the Wolverine,” but he tried to join the mega franchise as Thor a few years ago. In his latest variety cover story, Tatum revealed about playing the god of thunder by bombing his auditions in Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 superhero film.
“I really didn’t want to be Thor,” admitted Tatum. “But I wanted to audition in front of Kenneth Branagh.”
The audition itself didn’t go well. As Tatum explained, “After I did one take, (Branagh) was like, “You are not allowed to move. Please place your hands on this chair.” And he nailed my crutches.
Chris Hemsworth eventually won the role of Thor, and Tatum later proceeded to develop a Gambit film at 20th Century Fox as part of the studio’s “X-Men” franchise. Gambit has always been Tatum’s passion when it comes to superheroes. The film has multiple fits and started over the years. It was once dated in the October 2016 release before script overhauling delayed the project. Variety reported in November 2017 that Lizzie Kaplan had joined the film as the film’s lead. When Disney bought the Fox it still didn’t descend from the ground and eventually collapsed.
Tatum spoke to Variety in 2022, saying that he was “traumatized” over the years trying to make a Gambit movie just for x, and said, “I blocked the Marvel Machine. I couldn’t see the film. I loved the character. It was sad.
Luckily for Tatum, he finally got the opportunity to play Gambit on the big screen. Tatum shared an emotional statement that he won social media during the film’s release and would get the opportunity to play Gambit.
“I thought I’d lost Gambit forever, but (Reynolds) was fighting for me and Gambit,” he wrote at the time. “I’m probably borrowing him forever because I don’t know how to do something on par with what this means to me.
At the perfect circle moment, Tatum’s Gambit and Hemsworth’s Thor are currently working on Marvel Tentpole’s “Avengers: Doomsday.” The project is scheduled to appear in theaters on December 18th, 2026.
