‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ fails to answer our biggest Gambit questions

Marvel’s latest foray into the Multiverse with Deadpool & Wolverine is breaking all kinds of records, but its commercial success doesn’t make up for the Gambit-size elephant in the room. So, did he die in the comic book threequel? And what’s in store for Channing Tatum’s iteration of the character?

Obviously, spoilers ahead for Deadpool & Wolverine.

At its core, Deadpool & Wolverine is a surprisingly heartfelt eulogy to 20th Century Fox’s corner of the Marvel universe—even if Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) seems to have zero gripes about his fat Disney paycheck, signed and sealed by the Mouse himself. Not only did it see the return of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine from the X-Men saga, but it also reintroduced some beloved heroes to the MCU, including Wesley Snipes’ Blade, Jennifer Garner’s Elektra, and Dafne Keen’s X-23/Laura. Oh, and Chris Evan’s Johnny Storm from Fantastic Four, but, well…let’s just say he doesn’t get a happy ending here.

Yes, underneath the gory action sequences, fourth wall breaking, and MCU jabs, Deadpool & Wolverine is a story of redemption, making it fitting that one long-forgotten 20th Century Fox project got its full circle moment: the Gambit solo flick, which Channing Tatum was tapped to lead all the way back in 2014. Of course, the spinoff was famously trapped in development hell for years before being scrapped, so the movie and its star-studded cast never got off the cutting room floor.

A decade later, Tatum finally got his chance to don Gambit’s costume in Deadpool & Wolverine as a rogue variant living out his days in The Void, but his cameo left fans with perhaps more questions (and internet memes) than answers—mostly, about whether or not he survived.

Does Gambit die in Deadpool & Wolverine?

Unsatisfying as it may be, it’s hard to tell. In their climactic battle against Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) and her minions (ha), Gambit, Laura, Blade, and Elektra are well aware that they’re going to have to pay the ultimate price if Wade and Logan have any chance of returning to Deadpool’s timeline. Given they’ve spent the last several years trying not to be eaten by the trans-temporal entity Alioth, the group is ready to go out with a bang and ensure their legacies as heroes by defeating Cassandra once and for all.

Things aren’t looking too good for Gambit and Co. by the time Wade and Logan portal out of The Void, as they appear to be outnumbered by Cassandra’s forces. However, none of them outright die—at least, onscreen. It’s the last we see of Blade and Elektra in the film, but Laura is seen enjoying dinner with Deadpool, her pseudo dad, Logan, and all their friends after the battle is won, having seemingly been plucked out of the wasteland by the TVA. So what about Gambit?

Deadpool & Wolverine doesn’t address his fate head-on, but eagle-eyed viewers pointed out that in the post-credits scene (which involves a very foul-mouthed Johnny Storm), you can actually see Gambit walking around on one of the monitors in the TVA, hinting that he did, in fact, survive the events of the film. Again, this isn’t concrete proof that this is the same Gambit we met in The Void, as the whole Multiverse schtick basically dictates that there can be millions of variants existing at the same time. We also don’t know if he’s still stuck in the wasteland or if he escaped, but it’s certainly a promising lead.

Marvel is smart to not kill Gambit off—yet

Channing Tatum has spoken at-length about how happy he was to finally see his version of Remy LeBeau come to life, putting a kind of unintentionally (?) hilarious spin on the classic character. And since the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, Tatum is still holding out hope for his Gambit solo movie. The actor told Variety earlier this month that he “sure hope[s]” to reprise his role, adding, “I [wanted] it for the last 10 years. It’s in Bob Iger and Kevin Feige’s hands. I pray to God. Write it into existence, friend.”

And yeah, given the outpouring of support for Gambit’s MCU debut and Tatum’s questionable Cajun accent, it’s definitely not out of the cards (ha-ha). Fans have been practically begging to see the movie since Kevin Feige’s initial San Diego Comic-Con announcement, and Gambit’s redemption in Deadpool & Wolverine might finally give the studio the push it needs to put it into production. Marvel’s got a lot on its plate with Avengers: Secret Wars on the horizon, but a Gambit project would almost surely be welcomed by all—especially Channing Tatum.