Channing Tatum opened up to Variety about being upset when his plans to direct a movie based on the "X-Men" character, Gambit, fell through. Tatum and his production partner, Reid Carolin, had gotten pretty far along in developing the movie when they got the news the studio was no longer interested in the project. "We were right on the one-yard line," Carolin told Variety. "We had cast the film. We'd opened up a production office. We were on our way to shoot in New Orleans." Unfortunately, things came to a halt when The Walt Disney Company acquired Twentieth Century Fox, leading to a potential reboot of the "X-Men" franchise.
The duo's lack of directing experience didn't help either. "The studio really didn't want us to direct it," Tatum admitted. "They wanted anybody but us, essentially, because we had never directed anything."
Tatum revealed he was so hurt by the film's cancellation that he essentially boycotted Marvel films. "Once 'Gambit' went away, I was so traumatized," he said. "I shut off my Marvel machine. I haven't been able to see any of the movies. I loved that character. It was just too sad. It was like losing a friend because I was so ready to play him." Tatum revealed he was still open to play Gambit, but maybe not direct, admitting, "I don't think we should direct it. I think that was hubris on our part."
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