Could Channing Tatum have a future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Ryan Reynolds sees a possibility for it.
The actor revealed on Entertainment Weekly’s The Awardist podcast that executives at Marvel are “obsessed” with Tatum’s performance as Gambit in Deadpool & Wolverine.
"I honestly don't know what goes on behind closed doors in the bookkeeping sessions at Marvel, but I do know that they're obsessed with him in that role," Reynolds said of Tatum at the 46:52 mark here. "And it's kind of like the same situation I went through. Once you show that it works, well, that's really what they need. Sometimes they just need to see it in action."
Reynolds recalled that the leaked Deadpool test footage in 2014 helped prove fan demand and ultimately green-lit the film. Similarly, he hopes Deadpool & Wolverine could be the proof Marvel needs to consider bringing back the 44-year-old as the Cajun mutant in another film.
“Channing is so singular in that—in how he plays that character," Reynolds added. "But also he's so beautiful physically, the way he moves and the way he can pick up steps and create them."
As explained by Entertainment Weekly’s Nick Romano, Tatum was set to lead a standalone Gambit movie under 20th Century Fox, but Disney’s acquisition of Fox ended that project. Reynolds and director Shawn Levy gave Tatum a chance to fulfill this dream in Deadpool & Wolverine in homage to the Fox era of Marvel films.
In August, Reynolds dedicated a lengthy Instagram post to Tatum’s portrayal, saying Gambit is “a guy Chan was born to play.”
"His story is similar to my road on Deadpool — in that Chan spent a decade trying to put the most comic-accurate version of Gambit on the big screen," he added.
