by: S. Scott Stanikmas

After a worrisome few days, fans can now rest easy. Channing Tatum has signed on the dotted line and will play Remy LeBeau, a.k.a. Gambit, for FOX’s X-Men franchise.

The Hollywood Reporter has sources that say the deal was never in any real danger, but that Tatum was waiting for a couple of things to get squared away – namely just how involved he will be in the X-Men universe and how much he’ll be making in the long run.

Given that the studio is looking to make Gambit the new anchor character in the mutant films, it’s not surprising that he wants to make sure he gets fairly compensated. FOX is looking for a new fan favorite for the masses to latch onto now that Hugh Jackman will be retiring as Wolverine after his next solo film. And after seeing how much work Jackman put into his character (in the end it will be over 15 years and almost ten feature films), it’s no surprise that Tatum wants to make sure he makes out good on this deal.

The Rupert Wyatt-directed Gambit is slated to go into production sometime very soon. Street date for the film to hit theaters is October 7, 2016.