Channing Tatum confirmed as X-Men’s Gambit

CEBU, Philippines -  It’s official: Channing Tatum is Gambit!

After months of speculation, “X-Men” producer Lauren Shuler Donner confirmed the casting news, saying excitedly of the fan favorite role, “It is Channing!”

And just why is the “Magic Mike” hunk perfect to play the Marvel superhero? “Well you know, he’s a rogue—Channing—he’s a rascal, just like Remy LeBeau,” said Shuler Donner, “and he can handle the action—we all know that! And he’s got a really good heart.”

“He’ll be great for Gambit,” she gushed, “and he’s a Southerner, too! He’s not from New Orleans, but he is a Southerner [born in Cullman, Ala.], and he understands that world.”

Tatum, 34, told Total Film last year he would love to play Gambit in the “X-Men” franchise. “I’m from around that area, and my dad’s from New Orleans,” he said, “and I like to do a Cajun accent!”

But he also made it clear he wasn’t knocking Taylor Kitsch take on the role in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” “I actually like his Gambit,” Tatum said, “but I’ve always lived in and around the Cajun people, and I would’ve liked to have seen Gambit was always like the woman loving, cigarette smoking, drinking—you know he was the punk rock of all the superheroes.”