Channing Tatum Says He Is 'Too Traumatized' To Watch Marvel Movies Now

If we create a poll right now, the majority here will prove to be a big fan of Marvel movies.

These superhero movies not only create an adrenaline rush but with the power-packed action sequences and well-developed characters, the audience cannot help but feel a connection with the Marvel character. 

But sometimes that's not enough of a draw to entice every moviegoer to immerse themselves in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

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There is one celebrity who has vowed to not see a Marvel film.

That person is Channing Tatum–and the reason for his anti-Marvel stance is a very personal one.

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The Magic Mike actor admitted in a Variety interview that he has not seen a Marvel movie in a long time after going through a bitter experience with Disney–who owns Marvel Entertainment, LLC.

Tatum and longtime producer partner Reid Carolin spent good four years developing a script featuring the X-Men character, Gambit.

The stand-alone film was to be infused with the raunchy, irreverent humor similar to that of Ryan Reynold's Deadpool films.

However, the dream project was greenlit by Twentieth Century Fox in 2016–prior to Disney's acquisition of the studio–Tatum and Carolin had lobbied to share directing duties, unfortunately, the duo and Twentieth Century Fox did not agree on a lot of things together.

"The studio really didn’t want us to direct it,” recalled Tatum. “They wanted anybody but us, essentially, because we had never directed anything.”

“We were right on the one-yard line,” said Carolin, about how close the film came to fruition.

“We had cast the film. We’d opened up a production office. We were on our way to shoot in New Orleans.”

Considering this, Tatum even thought of stepping down from directing duties for the movie–said of the studio's ambivalence of Gambit's character:

“They would call him ‘flamboyant’ in his description. I wouldn’t — he was just the coolest person. He could pull anything off."

"Most superheroes, their outfits are utilitarian. Batman’s got his belt. Gambit’s like, ‘No, this shi*’s just fly, bro! This sh*t walked down the Paris runway last year.’"

"He’s just wearing the stuff that’s so dope because he loves fashion.”

However, things took an irreversible turn when Disney merged with Twentieth Century Fox in 2019 and Gambit was dropped as part of the corporate takeover.

“Disney had just gotten the X-Men from Fox,” explained Carolin, adding, “I think they needed to redesign the X-Men from the ground up.”

The project that was abandoned was close to Tatum's heart and it is difficult for him to recover now. 

"I haven’t been able to see any of the movies."

"I loved that character," he said of the skilled card-throwing mutant, as if he were a real person.

"It was just too sad. It was like losing a friend because I was so ready to play him.”

Though Tatum admits that he might be open to the possibility of playing the character should he someday be approached by Disney.

“Uh, yeah, I would love to play Gambit. I don’t think we should direct it. I think that was hubris on our part," said Tatum before acknowledging:

"I think that was hubris on our part.”