Friday Night Lights

Riggins to the rescue

Some might argue that Tim Riggins is already a superhero.  He gets girls, he drives a truck, and he drinks like a fish—mostly all at the same time.  Anyone who can pull off that trifecta must be working some sort of special power.

Well, what Friday Night Lights fans have known for awhile, Hollywood is making official:  Tim Riggins will be a superhero in the next X-Men movie.

Unfortunately, he will not be appearing as Tim Riggins.  Taylor Kitsch, the actor who plays Riggins, will be playing the part of Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine to be released 2009.  The movie will feature other cool actors and mutants such as one of the Lord of the Rings Hobbits and Ryan Reynolds, but I’m particularly excited to see Riggins’ turn as a Marvel Comics superhero.

I had never heard of Gambit before this announcement, but after a little research, it was plain to me that Riggins was the best choice for the part.  Throughout his Dillon days, Tim has displayed certain qualities that make him perfect for the role.  Take a look:

• Self-described ladies man? Check.
• Failed relationship with the woman he loves? Check.
• Able to manipulate the kinetic energy of other things?  Check.  (I am referring, of course, to Julie Taylor.)
• A history of stealing?  Check.
• Skilled at throwing cards and working the Bo staff?  Probably.

So it is plain to see that Riggins fits the part of Gambit, but does Gambit fit the part of Riggins?  This role is a big deal for Taylor Kitsch, but it might be an even bigger deal for Friday Night Lights.  The only pub created by FNL stars to this point has been Lyla Garrity (Minka Kelly) hooking up with John Mayer.  There’s no street cred in that.

The creators of X-Men should channel some of Riggins’ finer FNL qualities into the Gambit character to make him a well-rounded, cross-promotional individual.  Here are my ideas:

• Give Gambit a surrogate father.

An ideal fit would be Dr. Xavier played by Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler).  Dr. X could invite Gambit into his home where there would be awkward sexual tension between the doc’s daughter and sister-in-law, culminating in a misunderstanding that gets Gamby kicked out.  Then Gamby would be able to reunite with his wayward brother and heal the relationship between himself and Dr. X in a scene full of heartfelt apologies and hugs.

• Have Gambit help out a wayward peer.

The best way Tim Riggins knows to help someone out is skipping school and getting drunk.  Therefore, Gambit could take that blind X-Guy out for some drinks, let him shoot off his eye laser at the Golden Tee machine, and blow off a secret meeting at the X-Men lair.

• Let Gambit have a cool saying like, “I will end you.”

Riggins was full of great lines, so Gambit should at least have one of them.  Every time he throws a queen of hearts in somebody’s face, he could say, “How ‘bout Saracen sleeping with the coach’s daughter?”  Or after each bad guy who tastes the wrong end of his Bo staff, Gambit could cry out, “What’s the deal with the Shroud of Turin?”  Maybe he should just stick to “I will end you.”

• Make Gambit’s arch enemy a Christian radio DJ.

This is the most important plot point to add.  Gambit doesn’t really have any mortal enemies, so he could totally create a feud with Dr. James Dobson from Focus on the Family.  Their history could go back to when Dr. Dobson flirted with Rogue at a missions conference, creating a jealous grudge between the two.  Gambit never approved of Dobson’s right-wing Christian politics, and Dr. D never thought it prudent for Gambit to control things with his mind.  The climactic fight scene could take place at Whit’s End with Gambit hurling mind-charged milkshakes at Dobson and Dobson quoting damning Scripture at Gambit.

There is really so much potential for Riggins’ part in X-Men that it would be a shame for movie producers to miss out on it.  

Now to find a way to work Buddy Garrity into Transformers 2.

This post was written while listening to mewithoutyou

© 2008 KevanLee.com.