‘This is a binding contract’: Channing Tatum responds to Ryan Reynolds saying he would cameo in a ‘Gambit’ movie

We may never end up getting a Channing Tatum Gambit movie, but that doesn’t mean the updates on this phantom project will stop anytime soon.

For nearly a decade, Tatum has been trying to get a Gambit solo film off the ground. He’s had a complicated history with the role, facing missed opportunities due to scheduling conflicts back when he was one of Hollywood’s most promising rising stars in the mid-2010s. But as his career pace slowed down, Tatum finally got an opportunity to play Gambit in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Recently, Ryan Reynolds stopped by Entertainment Weekly’s podcast Awardist to talk about Tatum finally getting a chance to play his long-awaited role. Reynolds notably had a similar path toward finally getting a Deadpool solo film made. The story goes that Reynolds had everyone at 20th Century Fox all-but convinced that a solo Deadpool film starring him would be a fantastic idea, but after his DC movie Green Lantern failed at the box office, executives grew cold feet and decided to shelve the idea.

But that happened after Reynolds and director Tim Miller had already shot test footage for Fox. So someone, totally not named Ryan Reynolds, decided to leak the test footage. The fans went wild, and the studio had no choice but to actually make the movie. Reynolds now likens that situation to the one Tatum finds himself in, saying, “Once you show that it works well, that’s really what they need. Sometimes they just need to see it in action.”

And if social media memes are anything to go by, Tatum’s performance definitely struck a chord with fans. Coupled with Reynolds’ note that studio heads actually like Tatum in the role and that he would return the favor and appear as a cameo if Gambit ever got off the ground — it’s looking more likely than ever that the film might actually have legs this time around. However, despite Reynolds being Marvel’s new golden boy due to his latest Deadpool & Wolverine making north of $1.3B at the box office, he admitted on the podcast that even he doesn’t know how Marvel decides which movies to finance.

According to People, Reynolds did still reiterate on his Instagram Stories that if the Gambit movie is made, he will return the favor. Tatum caught wind of his warm remarks and responded through his own Stories, first calling Reynolds “best human ever” and then quipping, “Also, this is a binding contract.” When you look at the original obstacles preventing Tatum from making his Gambit movie, most of them are actually non-issues now. In a 2022 interview with Variety, Tatum shared that the main reasons he couldn’t make the film were because Fox was being purchased by Disney and, at that point, the MCU had a linear, solid structure.

Additionally, Fox didn’t want him to direct the film due to his lack of experience. Now, however, the MCU is at a ripe period for out-of-the-box ideas like Tatum’s version of Gambit, which he once shared would be a romantic comedy. Tatum also now has at least one feature film under his belt as a director. So, fingers crossed for Tatum to finally get his Gambit film made. After all, there’s certainly been less promising entries into the MCU.