Tatum doesn't need to be a great thespian to play a character like Gambit. He's not acting in a Christopher Nolan movie or critically acclaimed TV show like Breaking Bad. As long as he can act as well as Chris Hemsworth or Chris Evans, which I think he's perfectly capable of doing, he should be fine.
I never had a problem with the Cranston casting and Heath Ledger was a legitimate actor by the time he landed the role of Joker. Both Cranston and Ledger also had to try out for the part and convince casting that they were the right fit for the role. Even Robert Downey Jr. had to try out. Tatum? He sweet talked a producer into not only letting him play Gambit, but creating the entire role and eventual script exclusively for him. In other words, I'm Channing Tatum - bend over for me. This is not comparable to Cranston or Ledger. This is comparable to Will I Am in Wolverine or Justin Timberlake in Star Wars.
Tatum can actually act to a certain degree he does get type cast a lot. Plus he is from Louisiana and has the Cajun background. He'd be able to look the part as well so I'm all for it. I'm not sure about a stand alone movie though simply because I'm not sure there is good material to work from for it. They would probably need to have another somewhat major character or characters in a Gambit movie to make it work The old Wolverine and Gambit comics would be good material but then That would pretty much make it a Wolverine movie
Gambit, Mr Sinister, murdering a bunch of mutants. That could work. Anna Paquin/Tatum love story set in New Orleans? Not so much.
Mr Sinister would be the perfect villain and it would be a great lead in for Xmen: Apocalypse I believe one of the first missions Gambit did was for Sinister under the guise of Nathaniel Essex wanting him to steal information on the Weapon X program. Instead of running into Wolverine maybe he could run into X-23 instead.
Regarding Tatum - while he may not win any Academy awards, he clearly is not quite the acting joke that some people still insist on calling him. However, I think we'll all know more when the next Wachowski Brothers/Sisters/Whatever movie comes out. If he can pull off that ninja space elf role in Jupiter Ascending, then Gambit may be able to work ok. Besides, how many great actors are out there actually SEEKING to play comic book characters? Plus, nobody could do a worse job of casting than Singer did with the first X-Men movies. Famke Jansen as Jean Grey?? Rogue as a mousy little emo chick, Anna Paquin? Halle Berry? Ugh. Yeah, Jackman has fully embraced Wolverine, and the latest Wolverine movie is by far the best Marvel movie not made by Marvel directly. Tatum couldn't be worse than the lousy junk served up in the first three X-Men movies. And they did ok, despite their shortcomings, so don't fret TOO much about Tatum taking on one of the relatively minor Marvel characters. Well, don't fret too much at least until we see Jupiter Ascending.. then all bets are off.
I'm not familiar with the Weapon X story, just the Marauders deal. What you propose does sound pretty interesting. For me, Weapon X in general feels a bit played out. I never even remember Stryker being a huge deal in the comics but I'm sure he is now. But it could still be cool. I brought up the Sinister storyline because of Apocalypse. Maybe Gambit could be doing something for Sinister that has to deal with Cyclops/Jean. That would work too and do some setting up... or maybe Angel-to-Archangel. There's also an X-Force movie that might support Apocalypse but I'm not sure when or where that's supposed to release.
The first X-Men movie was fairly groundbreaking. Rules changed. Casting was fine by the time we got to First Class. Not just fine actually, out of this world outstanding more like. The stories are all there on the Tatum casting. He banged a female producer for a few months and she made sure he got a part.
Just came back from a screening. Wow. Definitely the best X-Men movie made. Stay until the end of the credits. Performances were brilliant, this is Hugh Jackman's best Wolverine performance. Time travel was handled well. Action scenes were great. Bring on Age of Apocalypse!
Oh man, if only they were doing that story. I head they are taking elements of that story to use for the next movie but if they full blown alternate timeline it with one armed Wolvie and one eyed Cyclops I'm all in! :grin:
It sounds like you're mad because Tatum was gifted the role, instead of trying out? That STILL doesn't mean he's going to be a garbage Gambit. It's not like the filming is slated to start tomorrow. He has a lot of time to learn the nuances of Gambit. I've already described why I think his situation is similar to Cranston and Ledger. Sure, the Cranston casting seems like a genius idea, because it's already happened. But would it follow, logically, that Hal from Malcolm in the Middle could do a 180, play Walter White, AND be successful at it? I don't think anyone thought Heath Ledger could have played Joker to that successful a degree, where more people were invested in Joker than everything else in the movie. I shouldn't have used Cranston and Ledger as examples, but they were the two off the top of my head. Not saying Tatum is on their level. I don't know that much about Gambit - to the casual X-fan (read: me), he was just the French dude that threw playing cards because he could manipulate the kinetic energy? And I think he also has a wooden staff? But like another poster said, he doesn't have to be a transcendent character - he just has to be in the mold of Hemsworth and Evans. Can he carry an entire film? That remains to be seen. Is he the best choice to play Gambit? Probably not. But I wouldn't completely write him off. I don't like him getting his own spinoff before appearing alongside other teammates, though. Wolverine didn't get a solo movie until the X-trilogy was over. And Jackman is a really good actor. Agreed with this post. I think more and more actors might seriously consider the bolded part. Downey Jr.'s career was revitalized with the first Iron Man. Hemsworth made himself known to places outside Australia with his role in Thor. Unless your superhero movie bombs (Poor Ryan Reynolds), superhero movies nowadays serve as summer blockbusters (fame), and could elevate your career (fortune).
Tatum showed improvements in "This is the End." But in all seriousness, you got to give him a chance.
For those who want to know about the end of credits scene: Spoiler The scene opens on the expansive sands of the Sahara desert. It pans behind a hooded figure standing on the dunes, arms raised. In the background, we can hear the chanting of a huge crowd. Probably thousands of people, all calling the same thing. It's indistinct, but seems rapturous, almost worshipful. Then we see a pyramid, half-completed. Huge stones lift themselves in the air and begin to reconfigure in complex, Rubik's-cube like fashion, completing the pyramid in seconds. The chanting continues. The camera pans around to reveal the face of the hooded figure. It's young, thin man. Chalk white with deep blue lips. Across his shoulder, we see the silhouettes of four mounted riders. Four Horsemen. And the scene cuts to black. Taken from here
Just saw it, thought it was fantastic. I'd rate it just under Captain America 2, although my friend thought it was way better. The time travelling was done superbly, and fantastic acting allround, but esp by young Xavier. Spoiler The best scenes were the Quicksilver scene (seriously thought they should've used him more), the completely badass young Magneto raising RFK stadium. I found it brilliant the contrast between the young vengeful Magneto, and the old, regretful one. Sentinels were truly great, they actually instill a sense of danger to these mutants.
What's the consensus on how early to get there for midnight release? Do you guys think 30 minutes before would suffice? Want to get good seats also. Probably gonna see it at AMC 24 since it's the closest location.
Good point. Obviously, the LP was the inspiration for the title, but you're right, the flick's title is Past, not Passed, like the 1967 Moody Blues classic (yeah, I saw them tour for that album back then. They were amazing). My bad!
