Channing Tatum Had One Condition To Return As Gambit In Avengers: Doomsday

Channing Tatum became an unexpected scene-stealer when he appeared as Gambit in last year's "Deadpool & Wolverine." The actor made a surprise appearance as the fan-favorite Cajun mutant and didn't disappoint. He's now set to reprise the role in next year's "Avengers: Doomsday," which is filming (and being written) as we speak. But getting Tatum to agree to sign onto the movie came with a big condition: It had to be okay with his daughter.

In a deep dive interview with Variety largely focused on his new movie "Roofman," Tatum was naturally asked about playing Gambit in "Doomsday," which is being helmed by "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame" directors Joe and Anthony Russo. But while the interview took place in the U.S., "Doomsday" itself is being shot in the U.K. That was the first major consideration for Tatum.

"My daughter's here. Marvel's never going to shoot anywhere here. Movies never shoot in America," Tatum said. Indeed, Marvel Studios and most of Hollywood take advantage of tax incentives from other countries to help offset the cost of productions. Despite threats from the Trump administration to put tariffs on films made outside of the U.S., it remains a key component of the industry. That means actors who live stateside have to leave their home for months when filming something as big as an "Avengers" movie.

So, because it meant leaving her for an extended period of time, Tatum asked his daughter Everly if he should play Gambit in "Doomsday" before he signed on. "I wasn't sure if I wanted to do 'Avengers,' because I was going to have to be gone, but I was like — it's okay. She's going into middle school now," Tatum remarked. He also recalled the question he asked Everly to help firm things up:

"Did Daddy get to go to work? Or did he have to go to work? Those are two different sentences."

When the "Avengers: Doomsday" cast was announced, a lot of Marvel stars were absent. Tatum's Gambit wasn't, and that isn't insignificant. At the end of the day, after talking things out with his daughter, Tatum decided that this was a "getting to go to work" situation, rather than having to go to work. The math checked out.

There are still questions about how Tatum's heavy-accented Gambit can work in something more serious like "Doomsday." We're talking about Robert Downey Jr. taking on the role of Doctor Doom in a massive-scale blockbuster with galaxy-sized stakes. But Tatum made it clear that the Russo brothers have that figured out, saying that the directors "want things to be funny, but they don't want to go full 'Deadpool.' They want to keep the drama and keep it tight. When Gambit gets serious — when he drops the Mardi Gras mask — things do matter."

Tatum tried to get a "Gambit" film off the ground for years as part of the "X-Men" movie franchise before Disney purchased Fox in 2019. Hence, finally getting to play the superhero is a bit of a white whale for him. The actor hasn't concerned himself too much with the Marvel Cinematic Universe of it all, either, even with the franchise hitting something of a lull recently (though "Deadpool & Wolverine" was a huge highlight). As he explained, he's purely focused on Gambit:

"My singular focus was Gambit. He likes women, he smokes, he drinks. He's not just a save-the-world kind of guy — we need those, but we need contrast."

"Avengers: Doomsday" hits theaters on December 18, 2026.