Keanu Reeves has established a rough-tough personality on-screen with his action flicks whether it be his groundbreaking performance in Speed or making noise in silence with the John Wick series. However, many fans desperately want him to get a little something in the superhero genre, and turns out he’s the perfect candidate for an X-Men character. 

Keanu Reeves

The character in question is none other than one of the powerful mutants in the X-Men list- Gambit! The charming thief has a unique ability to charge inanimate objects with explosive energy and make them explode. He often prefers to use a deck of cards in his battle and can turn them a deadly weapons with his powers. Given the powerful character it is, the actor was the first choice to play the role before it eventually was signed to Channing Tatum. 

Keanu Reeves Was Considered to Play Gambit in X-Men Movie

Remy LeBeau/Gambit from X-Men

Back in 2003, Bryan Singer’s X2: X-Men United was released which initially featured a short cameo of the mutant character, Gambit. Hugh Jackman’s stunt double, James Bamford, played the role before it was entirely removed from the movie. While many started wondering about that character’s future since it held great potential, the director had some great plans for him. 

According to James Egan’s 2015 book, 1000 Facts about Superhero Movies, the Valkyrie director had plans to give that character a major role in a third X-Men film. For that, he even had Keanu Reeves in mind to play the part. However, this thought never came to fruition since he was unable to return to the project as he got focused on working on Superman Returns, and the initial plan was eventually scrapped. However, 20th Century Fox kept the character still in the plans with Channing Tatum entering to take on the role. 

Channing Tatum Was Set to Star as Gambit in His X-Men Film

Channing Tatum
After Singer left the project, Gambit’s future still remained a question until Taylor Kitsch eventually portrayed it in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Initially, the role was planned for Channing Tatum but his commitment with G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra made him unable to play the character. 

Over the years, several directors came on board for the standalone film featuring the mutant with Tatum. Not just that, it also went through several changes including the complete shift in the film genre. 

As per the producer of 2015’s film version, Simon Kinberg, the film was intended to be a sexy heist thriller with the Magic Mike star starring alongside Léa Seydoux. However, in 2018, he revealed the complete shift in genre stating it would be a romantic comedy. 

Gambit

The No Time to Die actress gave an insight into the funny script intended for Gambit’s standalone film. In an interview with IndieWire, she shared, 

“The script was really good. It had some funny bits in it, but they wanted to make more of a comedy… I feel that in America, people have more imagination. I have been offered films very, very far from what I’ve done and I’m like, ‘Oh. Interesting.’ I love to feel that I can adapt myself. For me, that’s very exotic.”

Despite intensive efforts on the project, it never got the green light. With several directors associated with the movie, even the Step Up actor tried to take on the helming position but the results were futile. After the studio pushed back the film’s release date several times, it was eventually canceled by Disney in 2019 after the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by the House of Mouse.