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FIRST LOOK

First Look: Taylor Kitsch as Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine!

by Alex Billington
November 28, 2008
Source: IESB

This is 18 years in the making - we finally get to see the X-Men fan favorite superhero Gambit in flesh and blood on the big screen. Gambit first appeared in the comics in Uncanny X-Men #266 in 1990 but has been missing from TV shows and movies since then. He will appear in the upcoming X-Men Origins: Wolverine as played by Canadian actor Taylor Kitsch. As part of Empire's upcoming feature on Wolverine (see more on that here), they've debuted the first official photo of Gambit, and thanks to our friends at IESB, we've got the first look below. Those who were lucky enough to see the special trailer at Comic-Con know that we get to see Gambit in full action in the film - so this is just a very early tease. Take a look!

Remy LeBeau aka Gambit is a Louisiana born X-Men mutant that has the ability to manipulate kinetic energy. He is known for his love and manipulation of playing cards and is incredibly skilled in card throwing and hand-to-hand combat. Gambit is the X-Men's self-described ladies man and has held a relationship with Rogue over the years. He's a fan favorite and was supposed to appear in X-Men 3 but was cut from the script. Back in February, we reported a rumor that Kitsch had signed a contract to play Gambit in three movies - so maybe we will see him in more sequels if Fox decides to continue making more.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is directed by South African filmmaker Gavin Hood, of the Oscar winner Tsotsi as well as Rendition previously. The script was written by veteran screenwriter David Benioff, of 25th Hour, Troy, and The Kite Runner previosuly. The character of Wolverine was first created by Len Wein and John Romita Sr. back in 1974 before he joined the X-Men team. Fox will debut X-Men Origins: Wolverine in theaters everywhere on May 1st, 2009 early next summer. Stay tuned for the official trailer soon!

Explore tags: First Look, Hype, Photos

aaron

looks like an even gayer version of Ashton Kutcher and i don't mean that in a good way....
Janny

looks a bit too buff to be gambit... and no trenchcoat... i shall take the wait and see approach and maybe watch Xmen TAS again
ddot3

whatever happened to Keanu Reeves. i hear awhile back he was supposed to play Gambit in on of the X-men movies. he would have fit perfectly
http://loyalkng.com loyalKNG

Woah thats not what I had in mind to play as gambit.... but we will have to wait i guess.. to see how this plays out.
Des

LOL keanu Reeves That's when you know you don't have to take these comments seriously
Richard

LOl # 1
Padme

i did get to see the trailer it didnt look all that good, but when Gambit appear man everyone was like woooooaaaaaah gambit xD so yeah he kicks ass
Joker

Why would he wear a trenchcoat if his seating down playing cards? I like how the caption says rogue, probably a unintentional reference. Something tells me were not going to get to see any ooohhh, aaawww pics. untill at least next year.
Keith

Saw the ooohhh awwww footage at Comic Con. This is so lame (in comparison)
Jaf

don't his eyes turn red when he uses his power in the movie?
bltzie

ermm.. sorry Alex, but gambit was a part of the 90's x-men tv series so he has been present in tv shows...
Matt Suhu

get rid of the facial hair.
Darunia

Just doesn't look like a badass.
F.C.

his eyes are colored!!!! Gambit has red irises and has black instead of white in his eyes.... other than that, he looks nice.... yet, i agree with #13, Gambit is my fav X-Men character and Taylor just doesn't look badass.
MAr

that is a crappy still picture, not exactly the best angle either but hell, im still sticking to my guns that Taylor will be awesome in this movie.
Fuelbot

hey joker, you do know that rouge is an actual world and not the name of an x-men character, right? it means dishonest or unprincipled. its not an unintentional mention. it's a writer using words. get a dictionary.
Fuelbot

hey joker, you do know that rouge is an actual word and not the name of an x-men character, right? it means dishonest or unprincipled. its not an unintentional mention. it's a writer using words. get a dictionary.
BahHumbug

#16... Rogue is an actual "world"? And you should also look up sarcasm.
Lauren

Looks kind of like Channing Tatum. =/ Now, we need Blob, and Deadpool.
dac_fan

Whats wrong with his eyes?
samy

this is a crappy still but I love Taylor and love his character in "Friday night lights". From the trailer he looked so badass. Just..why the 'stache? 0_o Guess we'll have to wait...
http://www.myspace.com/glitchedgaming Dalton

Any new movie is still going to be better then any of the old Marvel movies guys, so what if they screw the first one up, we'll prolly see a remake of something better, like the hulk and the incredible hulk. catch me ?
darrin

this guy looks like he could be great inthis film.
MAr

Yeah, from what I have heard Taylor nails it, he even had a voice coach so this tells me they are taking the accent seriously. People who are judgeing his look by this picture alone, please dont, this pic is terrible, rather just google him adn see why they picked him to be le diablo blanc.
Joker

#16 Actual Rogue is the name of a x-men character, but then anyone who saw the first x-men film or second, or third, or read a comic, or saw any of the tv series would know this. And it would help if you spelled rogue right when you try to make a point when all you need to do is scroll up.
N

#16 - Rogue and rouge are two different words. Rogue has a double meaning in this case, as he is a rogue in most senses and as it refers to Rogue the mutant who he always has a thing for. I suggest you get a dictionary yourself before you recommend that to someone else. #12 - Why would you get rid of facial hair? Gambit has always had facial hair, he's the scruffy cajun guy. I'd think it was stranger if he didnt have it.
billermo

ohhhh #3 how comments like that keep me entertained,lol . gambit is the f'n shit im glad they picked a lesser known actor than a big name star . pic means nothing,get over it if it looks good or bad
http://www.flickr.com/uneak bret

well as I just finished Friday Night Lights season 2, this guy will pull it off. He has presence, a deep-ish voice and can play a great badass. Telling everyone to not judge so harshly before the movie comes out.
ImaginaryVisionary

This guy is by far my favorite character on Friday Night Lights. I think he has incredible depth as an actor, and he's an under rated performer playing an under rated character, on an under rated show. I would not be surprised, depending on the plot of the film, to see Kitsch overshadow Jackman in this movie. This guy can play a great cocky bad ass with heart, and he'll be far and away a new heart throb by the end of this summer. He'll be on a lot of magazine covers as the "hot newcomer in young hollywood." For those who haven't seen much of Kitsch on Friday Night Lights, don't judge based on this picture. This guy is the real deal. I'm always impressed with him on the show. I don't think they could have picked a better actor to play Gambit.
NadaNuff

Can't believe they didn't get the eyes right. I know, small detail, but Gambit is my favorite superhero. I'm not exaggerating.
L

Never knew everyone cared about his eye color (which has flip-flopped here and there anyways). I think its the same reason we probably couldnt take him seriously if he had a his awesome head wrap, heh. Who cares. As long as Deadpool is Deadpool, that's all that really matters
big r

I think the eyes do matter. Why are people making excuses for the lack of detail. How hard is it to incorporate a detail like that in the damn movie? Im going to see it regardless but it would have looked alot cooler and taken more seriously if they couldve at least done that, sheeeeesh!
big r

It's also important because his eyes correspond with his powers!
Lauren

#33, Since you said his eyes correspond with his powers, they might have them turn to how they should be when he uses the power. I know, that sounds- I dunno, but... *shrugs*
big r

Lauren nice try but his eyes are suppose to be a certain way normally before he uses his powers. When he does use his powers his eyes light up to a dark red or pink. So Kyle G, you can shut the fuck up because you sound like a dumb faggot! Maybe you should go back and watch a few x men episodes you stupid idiot.
tyler wilson

just the idea of seeing gambit is awesome!! Im thrilled he looks fine and yeah why would you wear your trench coat while sitting playing poker. he will kick ass its going to be great he is the best!!!
GreaT

Dammit. How in the fuck do you fail this bad on casting Gambit. This is on par with the DBZ cast.
rick

as jackman is coming back as wolverine, i find it amazing that people are complaining about a secondary character and the person playing him. good lord this is a comic book character! the movies never are the same as the comic books and quite frankly i find the animated series to be far superior than the films as they tend to stick with the mythos and do not re-arrange things like angel showing up in x men 3 when he was there from the begining. face it folks, the live action movies suck. bigtime.
http://www.flickr.com/uneak bret

GreaT, Have you even SEEN ANYTHING THIS KID IS IN? Or are you just talking out of your ass?
NadaNuff

Gambit's eyes are black and red regardless of whether he's using his powers or not.
deg089

At least this actor won't (or at least shouldn't) be playing gambit in X-men 4 because that would make gambit like wolverine, in the sense that he never ages. This movie is suppose to be about wolverine's past (20 years or more ago) so gambit would only be in his early 20's. Hopefully if gambit makes an appearance in x-men 4 they'll actually cast an actor who is french and looks like a thief.
ImaginaryVisionary

I realize that this post is old and a bit outdated now, but I'm a bit taken back by how completely petty, and dorky this conversation got. You all are arguing over what a character who has never been depicted outside of ink looks like. He's never been depicted in person. He's always been a drawing. Eye color? Really? From one picture you've found this much to complain about? Would anyone play poker with the dude if his eyes were glowing red at the table? You can't judge Kitsch based on his photo's. You just have to see him on Friday Night Lights to understand what this guy can bring to this movie. I'm telling ya he's perfect for the role. I'm not a big comic dork (like the majority of the world) but I am a movie dork, and he's going to be a stand out in this movie much to the dismay of all of you comic book geeks who are going to whine about him not wearing his head band or having comic book cheese rolling off his trench coat, or glowing red eyes that will ultimately look like a bad case of pink eye on film. There is a reason comic book sales plummeted in this country, and there's a reason movies like the Dark Knight became huge successes. People like realism, and you can't stay 100% true to the comic book and have a successful movie, and if the movie isn't going to be successful it's not going to get made. The alternative is adding realism to the comic books. This guy, Taylor Kitsch is going to provide the realism necessary to sell Gambit, and I have no doubt this is why he was cast in the role.
Joker

#42 Agree with you but its hard to add realism to a guy who can turn a deck of cards into the equivalent of a hand grenade.
NadaNuff

Expressing disappointment that Gambit's eyes are not black and red in the movie is not dorky, it's a minor critique--and has nothing to do with my feelings about the movie in general. Mystique's eyes weren't completely white in the X-Men movies. Neither were Nightcrawlers. Storm's eyes only turned white while she was using her powers. It's a small thing, one that will be overlooked when it hits theaters. And I'll wait to see Taylor's performance before I start talking about it. Ditto with everyone else in the film.
CHICK

Did hollywood exec's hold a secret underground meeting and swear a pact to one another to do everything in their power to ensure that they cast the absolute worst people in the most monumental roles? Is it only me, or does it seem like you wold genuinely have to try and deliberately go out of ones way to cast somebody this bad?! How do you fuck up Gambit, of all the characters? I swallowed Anna Paquin as Rouge pill(barely)...but this is too fucking much! And I'm not even going to discuss my thoughts on Leiv Schreiber as Arch nemesis Sabretooth, that could take days to type out. They're making movies and treating them like there "just another episode" or something. Someone in hollywood need to unfuck FOX, they casted the perfect wolverine and put the worst B list actors around him, with the exception being Ian Mckellan. Its happening all over again...why don't we cast William Hung as Apocalypse, and then maybe jerry springer as the professor x..............very pissed off and not looking forward this movie anymore........
CHICK

not to mention the fact that they gave a rookie director this movie...je will have little to no coaching advice for these character. It's up to Jackman, he can carry all of them......but he shouldnt have to
Pat

alright...i dont want to seem like an ass but its a still shot....STOP WORRYING ABOUT HIS DAMN EYES!!!!! obviously you need to watch the movie before you start criticizing things like that...holy hell its just one picture, they have the whole movie to show his "eyes" so wtf....
here ye here ye

I think he will be perfect.... i mean gambit is a badass and he plays a badass in friday night lights.... i think he is french canadian... gambit speaks french among other languages.... he will do fine... although he needs more of a 5 oclock shadow
Ripstitch

It is perfectly okay that people get upset about the eyes! its a major part of his character and some thing shouldnt be overlooked. if they can make mystique's eyes completely yellow why cant they make gambits eyes as they should be? in fact his eyes are an important part of his history. its kinda understandable when, in movies, characters enter in different ways (Angel) but directors should stay true to the characters appearance. thats what makes them that character. wouldnt you be annoyed if they hadnt made Storms hair white? or if Nightcrawler...wasnt blue or something?
Ripstitch

anyways...i always thought Gambits eyes were sexy.
http://www.redefineboutique.com Ven

The Gambit actor seems cool, looks like he can be sly and chill just like the cartoon version and i'm basing that off a picture. Now what bothers me is Sabretooth, Tyler Mane was perfect...why replace him? He's huge in real life and a pretty decent actor, underrated overall. He just fit the Sabretooth role seamlessly, it was like he was naturally him.
Apps

Sabretooth is suppose to be much taller and bigGER than Wolverine, not shorter and smaller. Gambit is suppose to have red/black eyes. Dammit you movie producers--get it right. Gambit better be with Rogue on future movies or else I'm going to forever hate future Xmen films
munecabonita

Taylor *is* a badass. He was in the movie The Covenant, and he was pretty kick ass in that movie even those he wasn't the main character. That movie still shows he has what it takes. And Keanu Reeves? Ha ha ha. That's a good one. Keanu is a HORRID actor and he only has goodluck with the Matrix bc it was an awesome concept and groundbreaking effects.
Ripstitch

sorry Apps i dont think theyll put Gambit with Rogue in the future movies...they kinda made a large time gap by making Rogue a teen and not introducing Gambit till this prequel thingy, meaning he'd obviously be like....20 years older in the first 3 movies time line.... maybe there is a slight chance theyd be together...but itd be kinda creepy..
Annoyed1

Does anyone realize how stupid this is? Your mad because Gambit doesn't look like he did in the comics? If that bugs you then you must be pretty mad about Wolverine cause they never put him in a blue and yellow costume. And as far as the age thing for Gambit, this movie is supposed to cover everything from weapon x up to right before he meets the X-men. So Gambit could actually be introduced pretty close to the time of the first movie. I find it funny cause in a couple months, everyone that is on here complaining will be back on here talking about what a great movie it was or saying it sucked just because they want to complain about something. My opinion is, quit trying to judge a movie that isn't even out yet. P.S. Remember the fact that everyone thought Heath Ledger would be a horrible Joker. But then The Dark Knight came out and everyone was proven wrong.
OutThatNola

You can't put any actor as Gambit. Gambit was a cajun from Louisiana and unless i hear that cajun accent it's just not right
http://www.firstshowing.net Richard Low

As "Imaginary Visionary" (# 42) points out, why would "normals" sit down at a poker table with a guy whose eyes glow red?...NOT something gamblers are going to gravitate toward, right? On the other hand, if I'm NOT fixing to lose my gambling stash, I'm ALSO probably going to avoid the table where a guy is shuffling the deck with his MIND too! C'MON, a "superhero" from New Orleans who is a card-carrying "magician" (has quasi-black magic powers) who likes to gamble when not settling petty barroom scores... Is this not the stupidest overlap of stereotype and total oddball-ness in comic book history (well, UP there anyways...)? I like what they did with Bullseye in DAREDEVIL (a much under-rated Marvel flick if you ask me). Instead of an f-in' playing card, he at least used metal (like a straightened out paper clip) to put barflies in their place... JustSaying... on May 02, 09
X-Man

The following actor should be Gambit. Josh Holloway mojo, but French speaking on top of that...:) Facebook.com ,Daniel Messier