There have been a lot of X-Men movies over the past 20 years, and most of the major mutants from the pages of Marvel’s long-running comic have gotten their time to shine, from Wolverine to Storm to Professor Xavier.
But there are a lot of mutants out there, and some popular ones have slipped through the cracks. Take Gambit, aka Remy LeBeau, who can touch something, charge it, and make it explode. Taylor Kitsch showed up as the Cajun gentleman thief in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but everyone hates that movie so he might as well not have bothered. Hollywood has promised us a Gambit solo movie for a long time, with Channing Tatum at one point getting so fed up he was just gonna make the damn thing himself, but it’s never made it out of development hell.
And between the coronavirus and Disney buying 20 Century Fox, which owns the film rights to the X-Men, it probably won’t be making it out anytime soon.
Luckily, fans are picking up the slack. Just the other week, director Jensen Noen revealed GAMBIT – Play For Keeps, a 20-minute short film that finds the charming mutant in a high stakes poker game with criminals, corrupt politicians and…wait, Eric Roberts is in this? Now I’m interested:
I’m sorry, was that President Nixon on the wad of $500 bills Gambit pulls out of his jacket?
Anyway, this is a ton of fun. Nick Bateman plays Gambit, and does all the Gambit things you remember. He fights with a Bo-Staff, he explodes cards, and his Cajun accent is in full force. And Rogue (Ellen Hollman) shows up, complete with trademark southern drawl.
And I feel like I need to say this again: Eric Roberts is the villain! Hollywood, take notes.
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