See Austin Butler As A Fan-Favorite X-Men Hero
This fan art depicts Austin Butler as X-Men favorite Gambit.
This article is more than 2 years old
Marvel fans on Instagram are enjoying an image of Austin Butler as Gambit. The new art was posted today and is already gaining steam. Butler is known for playing Elvis and starring in films like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but this image is a new look for him.
Gambit is an X-Men favorite. Although the character hasn’t received as much screen time as other more mainstream characters, he is an oddball character with the ability to charge matter with explosive energy. His weapon of choice is usually a deck of cards, which can be seen in the Austin Butler fan art.
Although before Austin Butler’s time, Gambit’s most well-known depiction comes from the early 90s X-Men cartoon. X-Men: The Animated Series ran from 1992 through 1997 and played up the heated romance between the explosive character and Rogue. Their back-and-forth repartee was an element of the cartoon that added humor and fun to the action and drama.
In 1994, Gambit was featured in an episode of the Fantastic Four series, but didn’t get much big-screen action until years later, when in 2009, Gambit was played by Taylor Kitsch in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Despite rumors of a full-length Gambit movie, which even included talks of Channing Tatum taking on the role, there has still yet to be a full-length adaptation surrounding the character and so this Austin Butler image revives old hopes for a Gambit movie.
In 2020 an unofficial Gambit movie utilized Nick Bateman for the role in Play for Keeps. But without the licensing rights, the film received little viewership and a mixed response. Whether Marvel will ever finally give the character the spotlight is uncertain but fans haven’t forgotten their interest in the prospect and they’re now looking to Austin Butler for fan art inspiration.
In addition, fans are pushing this casting on other platforms. Posts on Reddit and MyCast are asking for Austin Butler to be cast in the role. Whether Hollywood responds or Butler offers some kind of acknowledgment will likely depend on how far this audience movement goes.
For now, Austin Butler is currently filming Dune: Part Two and set to act in The Bikeriders. He is also playing Major Gale Cleven in the upcoming Masters of the Air mini-series which is currently in post-production. Whether he is a fan of Gambit or not, some of his fans clearly are.
Sometimes it just takes a little fan art to open studios up to the possibility of creating new content. Whether that was the motive behind this Instagram post is unknown. What is clear is that Gambit is still on moviegoers’ minds and that could lead to a big screen opportunity in the future and Austin Butler has been picked by those still seeking a full-length film involving the character.
Social media’s influence has affected the entertainment industry in many ways. Whether Austin Butler ever gets to play Gambit, fan art makes this a reality for those who wish it could happen. That is the power of mash-ups like this.
