It’s a shame Channing Tatum’s Gambit solo film never got off the ground at Fox, because who knows what he would have brought to the character? A fan favorite among the X-Men, clearly because of personality and not just the ability to make playing cards explode, Gambit now gets a fan film appearance in “Play for Keeps”, which popped up online a couple of days ago.
Directed by Jensen Noen, and co-written by him and Joe Grayem, this is another “fan film” that has professional values to it. Not just because Eric Roberts is in it, though the venerable actor does seem to enjoy being in these shorts. This is Noen’s second Gambit short film, both starring Nick Bateman as the Cajun mutant. It’s got appearances from Rogue (Ellen Hollman, who also produced) and Magik (Anna Butkevych), beating The New Mutants to public release.
With this and the other fan films I’ve watched over the years, I wonder if we’ve reached the point where it’s clear that enough of an audience understands backstory and the rest of the audience doesn’t care — they just want to enjoy it. You don’t have to really know anything about Gambit to appreciate the action and the plot here. All you have to do is enjoy…
And a tip of the hat to comics creator Dan Wickline, who pointed this short film out on Facebook.
