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It looks like a long-rumored fancasting held some truth as Lost star Josh Holloway has revealed that he was once cast as the Cajun hero in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but was ultimately let go due to his age.
"Well Gambit was one. As a matter of fact, I read with Hugh Jackman and got the part," said Holloway to Collider. "I learned the card tricks and everything." However, Marvel ultimately let Holloway go. "They hugged me, said, 'You're it! I'll see you on set.' By the end of that evening, the studio head had called and said, 'We want someone 10 years younger.' So they got Taylor Kitsch," continued Holloway. Holloway would have been 40 years old at the time, whereas Friday Night Lights star Kitsch was 28 years old.
Starring Jackman as the clawed hero, the 2009 film pulled Logan out of early retirement when a dark figure from his past murders his girlfriend. X-Men Origins was the fourth movie in the franchise, and introduced new mutants to the screen, such as Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool, Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth, and Lynn Collins as Silver Fox.
However, this wasn't such a big loss for Holloway in the end, as Kitsch only played the card-slinger in that one movie, and the hero was never to be seen again until Channing Tatum made a surprise cameo as Remy LeBeau in the 2024 movie Deadpool and Wolverine. As for X-Men Origins, the film ultimately tanked at the box office and still sits with a less than impressive 37% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Tatum is set to reprise his role as Gambit in upcoming MCU movie Avengers: Doomsday. In fact, a whole bunch of original Fox X-Men stars are set to return, including Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier, Ian McKellen as Magneto, and James Marsden as Cyclops. We got our first look at the trio in a recent Doomsday teaser featuring the classic mutants.
Avengers: Doomsday hits cinemas on December 18, 2026. For more, check out our guide to Marvel Phase 6, and keep up with upcoming Marvel movies and TV shows heading your way.
