It’s rare to see voice actors get the opportunity to reprise their roles in live-action. Often, that privilege is reserved for the biggest stars, translating their characters into bigger productions, like Gerard Butler playing Stoick the Vast in both versions of How to Train Your Dragon or Dwayne Johnson playing Maui in the original and remake of Moana. On rare occasions, though, fan favorites get the chance to make the jump from the booth to the camera, from Katee Sackhoff as Bo Katan in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and The Mandalorian to James Sie as the unfortunate cabbage merchant in both Avatar: The Last Airbender series. Back when casting for the original X-Men was underway, one star from the beloved 90s animated series tried to make the same leap himself — Chris Potter.
On X-Men: The Animated Series, Potter memorably voiced Le Diable Blanc himself, Gambit, across the first four seasons of the classic show. It was the first time Remy LeBeau ever appeared on-screen, and thus he became synonymous with the character for a time. However, there weren’t many opportunities to bring the card-slinger to life. The 20th Century Fox era of Marvel infamously never introduced Gambit as part of the X-Men, and even when Channing Tatum‘s doomed solo screwball romantic comedy project seemed poised to finally make it happen, things still fell through. That didn’t stop Potter from throwing his hat in the ring for the role of another mutant altogether.
The voice actor joined fellow X-Men: The Animated Series and returning X-Men ’97 stars Alyson Court (Jubilee) and Adrian Hough (Nightcrawler) over the weekend for a Tampa Bay Comic Convention panel moderated by Collider’s Maggie Lovitt, where they got into some live-action discussion. Potter specifically was reminded of his audition for X-Men under Bryan Singer, where, instead of Gambit, he went for the role of Scott Summers. I’d auditioned for the first movie for Cable, or I’m sorry, for Cyclops,” he recalled. “And I went in, and I met with the producers, and Bryan Singer poked his head in.” In the end, the part ended up with James Marsden, who would continue to play Scott across four films, though that may have been for the best for Potter, as, in his heart, he only wanted to be Gambit. That made it all the more disappointing and confusing to him that the franchise ultimately never touched Remy.
“I was filming, and the whole time I was doing the audition, I was thinking, I don’t even want to play this guy. I’m Gambit. I want to play Gambit. He’s not in the movie, but he’ll be in the next movie because Gambit’s great; he’ll be in the next movie. Well, all the movies went by, and now I can play Gambit’s grandfather. But I’ll never forget that. I thought, you know, to me it just seemed like a slam dunk that Gambit would be in the second movie. Why wouldn’t he be in the first? So, it was odd to see all those years go by and him never being in live-action stuff.”
Collider Exclusive · Marvel Personality Quiz Which MCU Hero Are You? Spider-Man · Daredevil · Iron Man · Punisher · Thor · Cap
Six heroes. One destiny. Answer 10 questions to discover which Marvel Cinematic Universe hero shares your personality, values, and fighting spirit. Will you swing, fly, or thunder your way to glory?
🕷️Spider-Man
😈Daredevil
🤖Iron Man
💀Punisher
⚡Thor
🛡️Cap
01
What drives you to do what’s right? Choose the answer that feels most like you.
02
It’s 2 AM. Where are you? Your answer says more about you than you’d think.
03
How do you handle a villain who keeps escaping justice? Every hero has a method. What’s yours?
04
How do you feel about keeping a secret identity? The mask — or the lack of one — says everything.
05
You’ve lost someone important because of your heroism. How do you carry that? Every hero pays a price. The question is how they pay it.
06
What’s your role when working with a team? Who you are under pressure is who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line between justice and revenge? The answer defines what kind of hero you really are.
08
When you’re not saving the world, what does life look like? The person behind the mask is always the more interesting story.
09
What keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
10
The battle is lost. You’re outnumbered, outgunned, and exhausted. What do you do? This is your tiebreaker — choose carefully.
Your Hero Has Been Identified Your MCU Hero Is…
Based on your answers, the Marvel hero who matches your spirit, values, and instincts has been revealed.
Queens, New York
🕷️ Spider-Man
You carry the weight of the world on shoulders that are younger than they should have to be — funny, loyal, and endlessly self-sacrificing.
You do the right thing not because it’s easy, but because no one else will.
You understand that responsibility isn’t a burden you choose — it’s one that finds you.
Whether it’s a neighbourhood mugging or a multiverse crisis, you show up.
Peter Parker’s lesson — that great power demands great responsibility — isn’t a slogan to you. It’s the code you live by, even when it costs you everything.
Hell’s Kitchen, New York
😈 Daredevil
You fight in the shadows between law and chaos, guided by a fierce moral compass that refuses to let the guilty walk free.
You use every tool available — your mind, your body, your faith — to protect those the system overlooks.
You’ve looked into the darkness and chosen not to become it, though the line has never been easy.
Matt Murdock’s duality — champion in the courtroom, devil in the alley — mirrors your own.
Relentless, conflicted, and unwilling to stop. That is exactly you.
Stark Industries, Malibu
🤖 Iron Man
Brilliant, driven, and occasionally insufferable — but always the person who solves the unsolvable problem.
You lead with your mind and back it up with resources, innovation, and a stubbornness that borders on heroic.
You started out looking out for yourself, but somewhere along the way the world became your responsibility.
Tony Stark’s arc — from ego to sacrifice — is your arc too.
You build, you plan, and when the moment comes, you’re willing to give everything. Because in the end, you’re Iron Man.
New York City
💀 The Punisher
You’ve been through fire that would break most people — and it did change you, completely. What’s left is unyielding, relentless, and operating by a code forged in grief.
You don’t ask for forgiveness, and you don’t expect gratitude.
You see a corrupt, broken world and you’ve decided to do something about it, consequences be damned.
Frank Castle’s war is born from love twisted by loss — and so is yours.
Uncompromising and unflinching — the world may not agree with your methods, but your conviction is absolute.
Asgard · Protector of the Nine Realms
⚡ Thor
Powerful, proud, and on a lifelong journey to become worthy of the legend you carry.
You lead with strength but have learned — sometimes painfully — that true greatness comes from humility and growth.
You’re larger than life, yet more vulnerable than you let on.
Thor’s story is one of transformation: from arrogant prince to worthy king, from isolated warrior to beloved protector.
You bring the storm when it’s needed — and the warmth when it matters just as much.
Brooklyn, New York · The Avengers
🛡️ Captain America
You believe in something bigger than yourself — and you fight for it even when the world has moved on and nobody else will.
You don’t bully the small guy, and you never stop when it gets hard.
Steve Rogers didn’t become a hero when he got the serum — he was always one. So were you.
Your strength isn’t in your fists; it’s in your refusal to compromise what’s right, no matter the cost.
In a world full of people taking the easy road, you’re the one who picks up the shield and stands up — every single time.
‘X-Men’ Has Found Its Next Cyclops, but Gambit Is Still Up in the Air
There is a world out there where, instead of Marsden, Potter would be set to return to the role of Cyclops later this year with the release of Avengers: Doomsday, but instead, he’s stuck to the animated side of the mutants as Cable in ’97. Tatum, at least, has finally gotten his moment in the sun, playing Remy first in Deadpool & Wolverine before getting the call to assemble against Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr) himself.The MCU is now also looking to a new generation to form its new roster of X-Men once Secret Wars is through and a new era begins for the franchise. Potter acknowledges that, at this point, playing Gambit’s grandfather is as close as he’ll get to embodying the man himself.
Reportedly, Gambit will again sit out the first movie, but the next Cyclops has been found in the form of Heartstopper star Kit Connor. He’ll join a younger lineup of mutants including Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Inde Navarrette as Rogue, Maya Boyd as Storm, Christopher Abbott as Professor X, and Adam Driver as Mister Sinister, which was fully unveiled at D23 last month. Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier is at the helm for what will be one of Marvel’s most important projects to date, with Lee Sung Jin and Joanna Calo penning the current draft of the screenplay.
Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the future of the X-Men, with X-Men ’97 returning for Seasons 3 and 4 and Schreier’s movie due out in 2028.
Release Date
July 13, 2000
Runtime
104 minutes
Director
Bryan Singer
Producers
Avi Arad, Lauren Shuler Donner, Ralph Winter, Richard Donner
![‘X-Men ’97’ Star Officially Reveals Live-Action ‘X-Men’ Audition [Exclusive]](https://i3.wp.com/static0.colliderimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/x-men-97-2.jpg?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop&w=780&resize=780,470&ssl=1 "‘X-Men ’97’ Star Officially Reveals Live-Action ‘X-Men’ Audition [Exclusive]")