The full IMDB cast and crew listing for Deadpool 3 provides further evidence Channing Tatum will appear in the movie as Gambit.
Per ComicBookMovie, Deadpool 3’s cast and crew IMDB page was recently updated and now lists Joel Adrian as a stunt double for Channing Tatum in the movie. Marvel has not confirmed Tatum’s involvement in Deadpool 3 at this time; however, Adrian’s IMDB credit comes after insider @MyTimeToShine reported through Instagram that Tatum had filmed a cameo as Gambit for the movie.
Tatum’s road to playing Marvel’s Gambit
Tatum was originally being eyed to play Gambit in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine; however, he was unavailable at the time and the role went to Taylor Kitsch. When X-Men Origins: Wolverine failed to start a series of X-Men Origins prequels, Tatum signed on to star in a Gambit film in May 2014.
The project quickly entered development hell as many directors came and left the movie, including Rupert Wyatt, Doug Liman, and Gore Verbinski. Tatum even expressed co-directing the movie alongside Reid Carolin shortly after Verbinski’s departition.
The Walt Disney Company officially acquired 21st Century Fox in March 2019. Approximately two weeks later, Disney officially canceled the Gambit movie.
Tatum told Variety in February 2022 that he was “traumatized” by what happened with Gambit, given the project was in development for so long and that it was nearing production right when it was canceled. “I shut off my Marvel machine,” he said. “I haven’t been able to see any of the movies. I loved that character. It was just too sad. It was like losing a friend because I was so ready to play him.”
Production on Deadpool 3, meanwhile, was suspended in July 2023 because of the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strike. The film still currently has a May 3, 2024, release date from Marvel.