Throw those grim rumors away, mon ami! Channing Tatum is officially playing Remy LeBeau in the upcoming X-Men spinoff about the charming mutant thief known as Gambit. Rumors earlier this week claimed Tatum might be dropping out for the late 2016 tentpole release, much like he’s out for that other Ghostbusters movie, but fear not. When Tatum appeared onstage during the Twentieth Century Fox panel at Comic-Con sporting a Gambit T-shirt, it was with good reason.

As for the rumors of whether or not Gambit could appear in X-Men: Apocalypse, a film that’s around half-way done shooting in Montreal, he will not feature in the story but we wouldn’t be surprised to see him teased and introduced in a post-credits button sequence. Gambit after all, opens in theaters just a few months after Apocalypse in a year where Fox has three Marvel movies (the other being Deadpool).

THR has the scoop, confirming that Channing Tatum has signed on for the Gambit movie and their insiders claim that there was actually a tad bit of truth to the rumors. There might have been some hurdles in the negotiations when it comes to percentages of the back-end gross. Since Tatum essentially is spearheading the project because of his personal love of the character and relationship with X-Men franchise producer Lauren Shuler Donner, he wants to be to the Gambit franchise what Hugh Jackman is to the Wolverine movies and what Reynolds is to Deadpool. In all of these cases, the projects only exist because of the stars’ passion and personal investment in the respective characters, and it’s possible the deal may see Tatum locked in for a long-term contract.

That’s something Fox needs with Jackman announcing that 2017’s untitled Wolverine 3 will be his “last time” sporting the claws. Fox is exploring other opportunities for bankable “poster boy” characters with Deadpool and Gambit, both of whom can be folded into the core X-Men movies down the road.

After reported challenges in finding a director for Gambit and the rumors about issues signing Tatum, Gambit is now in a good place. Rise of the Planet of the Apes director Rupert Wyatt is signed on, Tatum is producing and starring (and already practicing his Cajun accent and card tricks), a script draft is already ready, and reports have Fox potentially investing a massive $150 million budget for the project.

Excited to see Gambit back on track? Share your thoughts on Channing Tatum in the comments!

Fantastic Four opens in theaters on August 7, 2015, followed by Deadpool on February 12, 2016; X-Men: Apocalypse on May 27, 2016; Gambit on October 7, 2016; Wolverine 3 on March 3, 2017; Fantastic Four 2 on June 9, 2017; and some as-yet unspecified X-Men film on July 13, 2018. The New Mutants is also in development.

Nice,I read few weeks ago he was going to reject this role but good to see him on it now.Fingers crossed