'Gambit' With Channing Tatum Is Happening

It's common knowledge that the entertainment world is in desperate need of two things: More (good) superhero movies, and more things with Channing Tatum in them. So, it's extremely comforting and exciting that Fox just revealed Tatum will officially star in a new Marvel X-Men movie, devoted to the character of Gambit.

For those unfamiliar with the X-Men canon, Gambit is a playboy of a superhero whose power is making objects explosive. Tatum has previously expressed his desire to play the character, telling MTV, "Gambit’s the only X-Man I ever loved. He’s the most un-X-Man X-Man that’s ever been an X-Man … he loves women and drinkin’ and smokin’.”

He's been in talks for the role for a while, but it seems that the gig is now official, with Joshua Zetumer — who adapted the recent Robocop — on board to write the script. Unfortunately for fans, it looks like it might be a while before we actually see the movie, though: There's no release date, director, or official title as of yet. However, Tatum will appear as Gambit in X-Men: Apocalypse, which is set for 2016, so that's something!

Entertainment Weekly also notes that both Tatum and Gambit's secret identity Remy LeBeau share a Southern background. And Tatum's version will not be the first iteration of the character to appear on the big screen: He was also played by Taylor Kitsch in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.