Channing Tatum in ‘Gambit’ No Longer in the Cards?

I thought Gambit was his dream role. What the hell?

TheWrap is reporting that Gambit, a spin-off of Fox’s X-Men series slated for release on Oct. 7, 2016 may have lost Channing Tatum. His reps are still in “active discussion,” but TheWrap hints that Tatum is feeling there are “greater ambitions” beyond the superhero.

Much ado was made about Tatum’s passion for the character. Portraying the card-dealing, staff-wielding mutant had been a dream for the Magic Mike star, and he was at Comic-Con this year promoting the hell out of it. I’m not sure what has changed since for him, but perhaps he’s taking his transition behind the camera — another ambition of his — a lot sooner than he planned. But couldn’t he have done that with the clout he had in getting Gambit greenlit?

It’s worth noting that Tatum is tapped to reprise his Jump Street role for 23 Jump Street, also due next year. Gambit is being directed by Rupert Wyatt.