Deadpool & Wolverine Deleted Scene Just Set Up a Hopeful Future for Gambit
In a deleted scene, one of the Deadpool & Wolverine breakouts has a chance to escape the Void.
This post contains spoilers for X-Men ’97 and Deadpool & Wolverine.
“The name is Gambit,” the Ragin’ Cajun tells an massive Sentinel in X-Men ’97. “Remember it.”
With that declaration, Gambit won over even the most skeptical fans of the revived animated series, sacrificing himself to take out a major threat and doing it with style. At first, it seemed like Deadpool & Wolverine gave Gambit a similar fate, as he and his fellow multiversal escapees in the Void fell during their assault on Cassandra Nova’s stronghold.
But Ryan Reynolds just shared a deleted scene from the movie, which gives Gambit a more hopeful ending—and possible future. The scene opens on the body of antagonists Toad and Psylocke and then pans up to Gambit, striding through the carnage. The camera pushes onto Gambit as he looks up, an orange glow in his eyes. Accompanying the scene is a symphonic version of the theme from X-Men: The Animated Series.
The deleted scene certainly suggests that Tatum’s Gambit will be back for more adventures. The glow we see in his eyes is the reflection of a portal, the same type that everyone from Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man to the titular Deadpool and Wolverine use to travel across the multiverse. But where does that particular portal lead?
Gambit isn’t included at the dinner scene at the end of Deadpool & Wolverine, which closes by suggesting that the Fox X-Men characters still remain on a parallel Earth, as the heroes saved from the TVA’s pruning. But most of the other X-Men characters are also missing, as are Monica Rambeau, Binary, and the Beast, all of whom appeared at the end of The Marvels. These characters presumably exist in the same universe and get to continue having their own adventures, even if they don’t appear on screen.
However, the portal may also lead to the mainline MCU Universe (please don’t call it Earth-616), making Tatum the official Gambit. That, of course, would be a mistake. As enjoyable as Tatum was, he’s too connected to the Fox Universe and, as argued at Den of Geek before, the MCU needs its own set of X-Men.
That said, Channing Tatum’s performance as Gambit is an absolute highlight of Deadpool & Wolverine, even more so than actors such as Wesley Snipes as Blade and Jennifer Garner as Elektra. Part of that excitement stems from the fact that Tatum never got the chance to portray Gambit during Fox X-Men era, despite the actor’s frequent attempts to get a solo film made. The other part, of course, is Tatum’s game performance, in which he allowed himself to be the butt of every joke, complete with an outrageous accent that quickly went viral on social media.
So well-received was Tatum’s Gambit that fans have renewed hopes for a solo movie. Of course, it’s not just Deadpool & Wolverine that has reignited the popularity of one Remy LeBeau. The character’s arc in X-Men ’97 reminded everyone why the character was such a phenomenon in the ’90s. Gambit also has a central role in writer Gail Simone’s brand-new run on Uncanny X-Men, as the romance between Remy and Rogue drives the plot.
Whatever his destination, it’s clear that Gambit is more popular than ever and that bodes very well for his return to the big screen. Because we could never forget Gambit, no matter who is playing him.
Deadpool & Wolverine is now in theaters.
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Joe George’s writing has appeared at Slate, Polygon, Tor.com, and elsewhere!