Kevin Feige has promised that Channing Tatum’s Gambit will be more than comic relief in Avengers: Doomsday, describing the mutant as “a fully-rounded character.”
The Marvel Studios boss spoke to Empire ahead of the film’s release on 18 December.
He called Tatum a “standout” in the new film, and made clear that the role is not played only for laughs this time.
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That is a change from the character’s first outing.
Tatum made his debut as the card-throwing Cajun in Deadpool & Wolverine in 2024, where he mostly supplied levity and action.
The film went on to take more than $1.3 billion worldwide, and his performance was popular enough with audiences to earn him a return.
Fans have already noticed one difference. Recent promotional footage features an adjusted version of the thick Cajun accent that became a running joke in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Feige’s comments suggest Gambit will now be treated as a proper member of the ensemble.
The film brings the original X-Men together with the Avengers, and Feige has described it as the culmination of a quarter-century of storytelling.
Marvel has not said how big Gambit’s part will be, or how he fits into the plot. For Tatum, though, it marks a step up from a scene-stealing cameo to a role with real weight in one of the studio’s biggest films.
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