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I am currently re-watching X-Men: The Animated Series from 1992. As I remembered, there is no special focus on any specific X-Men character in the series. The X-Men appearance order in the intro is:

  • Cyclops
  • Wolverine
  • Rogue
  • Storm
  • Beast
  • Gambit
  • Jubilee
  • Jean Grey
  • Professor X

Among the X-Men featured in the intro, Jubilee is given no substantial role in the movies, while Gambit is included only as a side character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Is there any specific reason expressed by the actors, directors, producers, or any other relevant person explaining why Gambit was mostly omitted from the X-Men Cinematic Universe?

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    Because the Gambit movie is currently in "development hell" - screenrant.com/x-men-channing-tatum-gambit-movie
    – Paulie_D
    Commented Jun 19, 2018 at 9:34
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    @Paulie_D Have the producers ever expressed that they wanted to use Gambit in a separate movie? I mean even the most boring X-Men, Storm is there, but the most fun X-Men is not :)
    – user65648
    Commented Jun 19, 2018 at 9:37
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    It IS a separate movie...they just can't get it made yet.
    – Paulie_D
    Commented Jun 19, 2018 at 9:43
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    In addition, one of the most significant and memorable aspects of Gambit's story, especially when active with the X-Men, is his relationship with Rogue. Given that in the first X-Men movie they paired Logan with Rogue as a friend/mentee (instead of with one of the other mutants he actually mentored in a significant way, Kitty Pryde or Jubilee), they couldn't really pair up the two in that movie. Since then, Rogue hasn't been a big part of any of the movies. Something set in the past, or featuring Gambit as a standalone character, avoids that issue.
    – RDFozz
    Commented Jun 19, 2018 at 18:08
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    @RDFozz I disagree. Gambit is fun because of his personality, rivalry with Wolverine and because of the unpredictable way he uses his powers. Granted that in rivalry Gambit is replaced by Cyclops, who was kind of above such petty things in the animated series, Gambit would still be quite fun. Finally, Rogue could easily be found by Gambit and brought to the mansion in the first movie to assert the friend/mentee relationship. The only drawback would be the scene where Rogue takes Wolverine's power after he stabbed her because of his nightmare would have made way less sense.
    – user65648
    Commented Jun 19, 2018 at 18:30

3 Answers 3

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It's probably largely due to the fact that his character was one of many points that comic fans reacted negatively to in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Back in 2014, I believe, there were attempts to try and rectify this with a solo Gambit film, with Channing Tatum in the lead, the idea being that maybe they could redeem the character like they did with Deadpool.

However, the solo Gambit movie went through development hell, and issues regarding directors, writers, and scripts caused constant delays. Also, since the recent Disney-Fox merger, Deadpool is the only character not being recast, and The New Mutants film seems to be getting released next year, although that largely just seems to be able to use it to make some additional money, as that film was pretty much finished.

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Gambit has had his own eponymous film in development. This would likely have been his first major appearance, but it's been a troubled production. Prior to that, he had a brief scene in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

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Channing Tatum's long-standing efforts to bring Gambit to life in a standalone film were repeatedly thwarted by studio complications. The project came close to fruition at 21st Century Fox but was ultimately shelved when Disney (Marvel Studios' parent company) acquired Fox in 2019.

However, Gambit fans finally got their wish when Tatum made his debut as the character in Marvel Studios' Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). The film cleverly incorporated a meta reference to the character's troubled production history. In the film, Gambit interacts on-screen with the titular characters, who originated in Fox's X-Men Cinematic Universe but have now found a new home in the MCU.

In an interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Tatum shared his two-decade journey to portray the Cajun card-thrower:

Tatum: I've been trying to, like, actively in the industry, play that, like, character for the last 20 years. […]

Fallon: So, you were trying to get this movie made, "Gambit," and Marvel was like, "Well, we'll work on it. We'll figure it out" or...

Tatum: Man, it was at Fox first, and we -- I worked on it for like six years trying to get the standalone to happen. And then, right on like the 1-yard line, we were about to make the movie, and then Fox got bought by Disney.

The acquisition led to a conversation with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige,

Tatum: [Kevin Feige] was like, "Look, I love Gambit. I just don't know how to do it right now. Like, I don't know how he fits into what we're doing. And so […] I need to have a minute to, like, figure it out." And, like, now we've sort of cracked a little bit of the code, and hopefully...

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