Summary
Channing Tatum’s portrayal of Gambit inDeadpool & Wolverinewas one of my favorite parts of the movie and paid off his unmade solo film, but that’s not the only canceled Tatum project I wanna see revisited. Tatum was one of severalcameos inDeadpool & Wolverine,which also included legacy heroes such as Blade and Elektra. Though I loved seeing these characters once again,Tatum’s appearance as Gambit was even more interesting when considering that his solo X-Men movie never made it to the big screen.
Originally,Channing Tatum was set to lead Fox’sGambitand, as one of the X-Men’s best characters, I could not wait to see more of how Remy Labeau could be interpreted on screen. However, the film’s continual delays mean thatGambithas remained on the shelf, particularly after Disney bought 20th Century Fox. Five years later, I’m so glad we finally can see how Channing Tatum breathes life into such a great character. Yet, the success of his performance only makes me want to watch one of his lost projects even more: theJump Street/MIBcrossover.
“I Was Too Scared”: Channing Tatum Reveals 1 Part Of His Deadpool & Wolverine Gambit Cameo That Intimidated Him
MCU star Channing Tatum confesses to Zoe Kravitz what scared him the most about playing Gambit for the first time in Deadpool & Wolverine.
21 Jump Street/Men In Black’s Scrapped Crossover Sounds Too Good Not To Happen
It Would Combine Two Great Comedy Franchises
21 Jump Streetwas one ofChanning Tatum’s best comedy moviesthanks to his and co-star Jonah Hill’s quick-witted performances as police officers undercover in a high school. I love the unserious nature of the movies and how they poke fun at reboots and franchises, despite being a remake of the 1980s TV series21 Jump Street, starring Johnny Depp. So, when plans for21 Jump Street’s third movie were revealed to be in conjunction with another incredible comedy franchise, I was well and truly seated.
Starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones,Men in Blackis another of Sony’s biggest comedy franchises. Each of the four movies deals with a secretive government department that deals with problems that arise from extraterrestrial life. Though this pairing seems a little out of the ordinary, the comedic potential that could unravel from combining these two iconic universes is unrivaled and makes it something I would love to see in the future.
MIB 23was set to replace23 Jump Streetas the third movie in the21 Jump Streetfranchise. However, this movie was also canceled afterMIB 23’s failed production.
The movie, which would be calledMIB 23, would be the third installment of the21 Jump Streetfranchise.The plans forMIB 23were first released after Sony’s 2014 email hacking scandalshared information about several of the production company’s upcoming projects, which included the now-releasedSpiderman: Into the Spiderverse. Though there isn’t much known about the future ofMIB 23,Channing Tatum’s optimistic update about23 Jump Streetgives me hope for the future of the21 Jump Streetfranchise. However, it also means that the chances ofMIB 23being released are very slim.
Why The 21 Jump Street/Men In Black Crossover Script Was Never Filmed
The Franchises Went In Different Directions
Though these two franchises were great individually,21 Jump StreetandMen in Blackwere almost the exact opposite of each other, causing issues when matching their tones together.Men in Blackpoked fun at a classic science-fiction scenario without losing the tension that often comes hand-in-hand with these movies. Alternatively,21 Jump Streetmade fun of everything in its path with crude and light-hearted humor. As a result, these two different dynamics could never fully align and resulted in the crossover being shelved indefinitely.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller were reportedly attached as the writers for theMIB 23crossover.
Sony instead chose to move forward and releaseMen In Black: Internationalin place ofMIB 23. This, in my opinion, was a much smarter move at the time. It gave theMen in Blackuniverse a chance to develop without losing its stakes. Plus, it didn’t allow21 Jump Streetto become the butt of its own joke by becoming the same franchises and sequels it was poking fun of. That said, I’ll always wonder whatMIB 23would have been like, and if its absurd premise would have worked on the big screen.
What The 21 Jump Street/Men In Black Crossover Would Have Looked Like
The Idea Sounded Strangely Great
Originally slated to have been directed byThe Muppets' James Bobin,MIB 23would see Jenko and Schmidt shed their undercover personas and become the newest recruits to the elusive government agency. The script promises to keepMen in Black’s stern yet ironic tone but places Hill and Tatum’s characters front and center in a globetrotting adventure with an extraterrestrial twist. However, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are not expected to reprise their roles in this comedic crossover event.
Just the idea of seeing Jenko and Schmidt navigate a scenario that is quite literally out-of-this-world seems like comedy gold, so it’s a real shame this project never saw the light of day.
Just the idea of seeing Jenko and Schmidt navigate a scenario that is quite literally out-of-this-world seems like comedy gold, so it’s a real shame this project never saw the light of day. However, Channing Tatum’s enthusiasm for the project gives me hope.Fox’s failed X-Men movie got justice 10 years laterthanks to Tatum’sDeadpool & Wolverinecameo, so I hope there is still potential forMIB 23to happen one way or another eventually.
Deadpool & Wolverine
Cast
A follow-up to the highly successful Deadpool and Deadpool 2 films starring Ryan Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth. The third film will be the first in the franchise to be developed under the Marvel Studios banner following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox.
