Cable has been a longtime favorite in the X-Men world, and Deadpool 2 will have the honor of adapting him in live action for the first time. Ever since Wade Wilson teased Cable’s introduction in the Deadpool post-credits scene, there’s been no shortage of rumors and reports about who will play him, but that mystery has finally been solved. The coveted role will go to an actor who has plenty of experience in the world of comic book media, Josh Brolin.
After more than a year of searching, 20th Century Fox as selected Josh Brolin to play Cable in Deadpool 2. Some of the competition Brolin beat to snag the character included David Harbour from Stranger Things and Man of Steel veteran Michael Shannon. According to THR, Brolin’s Cable deal is for four movies. This will be his fourth comic book movie role, following Jonah Hex, Sin City 2 and Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, who will finally snag the spotlight next year in Avengers: Infinity War. Actually, if you take Men in Black 3 into account, since the first Men in Black movie was based off the Malibu Comics series, this is comic book role #5 for Brolin.
Few details have been released about what to expect from the live-action version of Cable. Just like in the comics, he’s expected to be overly serious and determined, essentially serving as a new “straight man” while Deadpool handles the comic relief, fourth wall-breaking duties, as per usual. Deadpool 2 co-writer Paul Wernick also said that the movie won’t delve too deep into the character’s “convoluted origin story,” so don’t expect to see the apocalyptic future where he grew up. As for what other movies we might see Brolin play Cable in, it’s practically guaranteed that he’ll show up in X-Force, the militaristic mutant team that has counted Deadpool and Domino among its members in the comics.
Josh Brolin is the second new actor to be added to Deadpool 2. Atlanta actress Zadie Beetz was cast as Domino last month. Along with Ryan Reynolds obviously reprising Wade Wilson, the returning cast also includes Morena Baccarain as Vanessa Carlyle, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Stefan Kapicic as the voice of Colossus and Karan Soni as Dopinder the cab driver. John Wick‘s David Leitch is taking over directing duties, while Reynolds, Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese are tackling the sequel’s script with assistance from The Martian‘s Drew Goddard.