One of the more memorable moments from Deadpool & Wolverine—and that’s saying something, given the 2024 action-comedy is packed with standout scenes and Easter eggs galore—was the surprise appearance of Gambit, played by Channing Tatum.
Tatum certainly looked the part, sporting Gambit’s signature trench coat, pink-and-blue underarmor, and flowing hair beneath his iconic headpiece. But one trait that stood out even more—played up for comedic effect—was Gambit’s thick Cajun accent, a nod to the character’s roots in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Ryan Reynolds—who not only stars as Deadpool but is also heavily involved behind the scenes—revealed that Marvel execs were thrilled with Channing Tatum’s take on the energy-charging, card-slinging mutant. So it’s no surprise that Gambit is set to appear in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday alongside Pedro Pascal’s Mr. Fantastic and Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom. One aspect of the character that will likely be toned down, however, is his exaggerated Cajun accent—something Deadpool & Wolverine poked fun at when Deadpool quipped, “Who’s your dialect coach? The Minions?”
“I’m not gonna go full Cajun,” Tatum said in an interview with Variety. “[Directors Anthony and Joe Russo] want things to be funny, but they don’t want to go full ‘Deadpool.’ They want to keep the drama and keep it tight. When Gambit gets serious — when he drops the Mardi Gras mask — things do matter.”
Although Tatum admitted that studio execs “really had to wrap their minds around the accent and how people are going to understand him” moving forward after Deadpool & Wolverine, he explained that the Cajun accent, though exaggerated, was both intentional and grounded in authenticity. “There was very little improv. The Cajun dialect is a very particular one,” he said. “I grew up in Mississippi and my dad is from New Orleans, so it’s something I was around, even if I’d never performed it before. There are certain little isms that are very Cajun-y, but we actually intended it to be somewhat unintelligible. That was sort of the joke.”
Tatum added, “[Ryan would] come up to be and say, ‘I don’t want to know anything that you’re saying on this [take],’ so I just dialed it all the way up,” Tatum added. “And then other ones he’s like, ‘All right, I’ve got to understand what you’re saying now.’”
While the extent of Tatum’s role as Gambit in Avengers: Doomsday remains unknown, one thing seems certain: we can expect at least one standout action sequence. The actor reportedly suffered a significant injury on set—one that required pain medication and intensive physical therapy to complete his scenes.
“It’s not about the pain I feel in the moment,” Tatum said of the injury. “It’s knowing I can’t take this back. And now I know what the next six months of my life will be like… I just hate getting old. In my mind, I’m literally still 30 years old—26, if I’m honest.”
Do you think it’s a good thing that Gambit’s not going full Cajun in future MCU appearances? Let us know in the comments.
