5 Actors Who Would Be a Better Gambit

There are times when casting directors should really take a note from the fans and be very careful who they choose to fill iconic roles, especially those in the geek/nerd world of comics, cartoons and superheroes. We saw a backlash with the new Fantastic Four cast, with the casting of Ben Affleck as Batman, but what is the newest piece of nightmare casting are they trying to do now? It has been rumored for quite a while that Channing Tatum would be taking on the role of Gambit, aka Remy LaBeau, in an upcoming solo film on the Cajun mutant, and today it was confirmed. Now, everyone has their favorite mutant whether you are the classic Wolverine fan or perhaps go for the less over saturated character like Night Crawler, for me growing up in the early ’90s Gambit was the best of all the mutants. The cartoon version of Remy LaBeau was a first crush for many preteens of my generation, his suave, sassy and snarky nature gave us all expectations we could never wish to find in a real non-mutant man.

There are several problems with casting Tatum in this role, admittedly my view on him may be jaded because I believe he is an over exposed, underwhelming actor who is known more for his pecs than his ability to deliver believable dialogue. There is no need to have a “name” actor like Tatum taking on this role, I do not understand the choice at all, and I cannot even imagine him attempting the Cajun accent…really, it gives me chills just thinking about it. Channing also doesn’t quite fit the look of the character, now usually looks are not something I would get hung up on for casting, I actually appreciate a lot of the changes they have made in the Marvel casting, however they are taking a short, huge-muscled man and trying to fit him into a lean, spry character like Gambit. Now, I am not saying that I would like to see Taylor Kirtsch reprise his role from the terrible “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” however I would take his portrayal over the choice of Tatum any day.

Below are actors who I believe deserve not only to play one of the greatest X-Men of all time but also to make a big name for themselves in Hollywood as part of a big Marvel film.

 

Gaspard Ullie

Where you may know him from: Hannibal Rising, Paris, Ju Teme

Why him? He is my first choice to play Remy, he has the perfect combination of looks, hair and even a French accent to boot. He has a pretty substantial career in French cinema, having only done a few films in the States, , it would be interesting to see how well he does here after taking on such an iconic role. He has a dark quality about him, as do most of the men on this list, there is a bit of a hidden snark in his smile and I would love to see what he does with a deck of cards.

Iwan Rheon

Where you may know him from: Misfits, Game of Thrones

Why is he a better choice? Another actor with a bit of snarky dark charm, he made me cringe on Game of Thrones, laugh during Misfits, I could see him giving us the one liners of Gambit.

Jamie Dornan

Where you may know him from: Once Upon a Time, Fifty Shades of Grey

Why is he a better choice? I know, I know he is going to be Christian Grey, a choice I am still quite wary about, but he is yet another actor who deserves to have a good chance to breakout on the big screen. Dark, sultry and mysterious, all good things to have when coming at the thieving Remy character. If you didn’t swoon while watching as the hunter on OUAT, then you just were not watching it properly. Can’t you see him in a pink haze of kinetic energy?

 

Ben Barnes

Where you may know him from: Chronicles of Narnia, Stardust

Why is he a better choice? He is one of those actors I wish was doing more on film, he has been on stage for a bit and some has some small roles here and there coming up, but he would be an interesting choice. He may be a bit more of a baby face, softer looking than Gambit but he would do well with the charming and romantic side of the character.

 

Paul Dano

Where you may know him from: Looper, 12 Years a Slave

Why is he a better choice? There is an intensity to the way he portrays his characters that I think would definitely give us a slightly more dramatic and down to earth representation of a mutant. Plus I can easily see him in a long brown trench coat waiting to kick some ass.

 

The ones that follow would have been my top choices if only they weren’t already a part of the newer MARVEL films. 

Aaron Taylor-Johnson – if he weren’t in Avengers: Age of Ultron he would have been my top choice given his athleticism and wry humor.

 

Evan Peters – if he wasn’t Quicksilver in X-Men: Days of Future Past

 

But to be honest, if they are going to force us to watch someone like Channing Tatum take on this role I would rather we just get an animated film for Gambit, it would be far less painful to watch.