Channing Tatum Teases His Return as Gambit in Avengers: Doomsday (Exclusive)

How much Cajun accent is too much Cajun accent? That’s something Channing Tatum had to figure out in each scene he filmed while playing Gambit in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday.

“It’s always an interesting negotiation,” the actor, 45, explains of speaking in the Louisiana dialect his comic book superhero character is known for.

“When you go down to Lafayette where most of the Cajuns are and Cajun culture, there’s a huge spectrum of Cajun. It’s massive,” says Tatum.

“And so I have to interpret what I need to get across in the scene,” continues Tatum, who previously played the character in last year’s Deadpool & Wolverine. “And I got to make sure that, ‘Is this line for a joke and can I really Cajun this one up? Or is this line for plot and do I need to be really clear but still in a Cajun accent?’” 

“It’s always a bit of a push and pull,” says Tatum, who notes that Avengers: Doomsday is more dramatic than Deadpool & Wolverine, which leaned heavily into comedic moments.

Doomsday directors Anthony and Joe Russo “love their comedy and that’s always going to be in there as well,” says Tatum, “but it’s definitely going to be a dramatic movie.”

Not to mention a massive movie. Tatum says the “sheer scale” of the Russos’ film — due in theaters on December 18, 2026 — is going to have viewers in awe.

“I think that they really set themselves up for a really hard bar to hit,” he says of the filmmakers, who previously directed Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016),  Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). 

“Every single movie that they make is the next one has to top it. When I read the script, I was just like, ‘What?!’ I don’t think anybody’s really going to understand how they did this. It’s going to melt everybody’s brain all over again,” Tatum adds.

Deadpool & Wolverine star Ryan Reynolds previously praised Tatum last year when the hit film hit theaters.

“Gambit is a guy Chan was born to play,” Reynolds wrote in part on social media. “He’s one of the coolest, smartest characters in Comics and still largely unexplored. I want more — and from what I saw in theaters, you do too. Having the chance to say goodbye to some of these heroes is as important as having new characters to root for… and rooting for Gambit is easy. Rooting for Chan is even easier. He’s one of the greatest, hardest working, kindest people in this entire industry.”

The highly anticipated Avengers: Doomsday features a star-studded cast, including Robert Downey Jr. as villain Dr. Doom and several other actors from the MCU including Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Paul Rudd and Letitia Wright.

Tatum is currently starring in Roofman, based on the true story of convicted criminal Jeffrey Manchester, who earned his titular nickname by breaking into fast food restaurants through their roofs. After he escaped from prison, he hid behind the makeshift wall of a Toys ‘R’ Us store for several months.