Over the past few months, one of the hottest roles being pursued in Hollywood is Cable, the mutant soldier from the future who will be featured in Deadpool 2. Several names had been rumored since the character was mentioned in a tag at the end of the credits in Deadpool. Ryan Reynolds jokingly — or maybe not jokingly — rattled off Mel Gibson, Dolph Lundgren and Keira Knightley as possibilities.
But 20th Century Fox has apparently found their man. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Josh Brolin will play the hulking telepath (also known as Nathan Summers, whose name was scrawled on a phone booth in that Deadpool promo which played before Logan) with a bionic arm and massive firearms. He can suitably the “big guy with a flat-top” description Reynolds cited.
Brolin is a surprise choice, considering his name hadn’t been associated with the role before. Also, he’s already attached to another superhero franchise, playing intergalactic bad guy Thanos in the two upcoming Avengers sequels. We don’t know exactly how large that role will be, but it’s presumably significant if he’s the reason that a larger group of Avengers (and other Marvel characters like Spider-Man and Doctor Strange) get pulled into the story. Yet it’s also a motion-capture performance, so maybe not as much time is required of Brolin. At least not yet.
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Michael Shannon had most recently been reported as the frontrunner, which seemed like a curious choice since he didn’t seem to entirely enjoy playing General Zod in Man of Steel. But hey — different movie, different character, different director, more fun property — things can change. Brad Pitt may have been the most surprising name attached to the role, which speaks to how highly Cable is viewed among actors. But Deadpool 2 director David Leitch said scheduling didn’t work out, indicating that Pitt was apparently serious about the part.
David Harbour had also been reported as a leading choice at one point, and certainly meets the physical requirements for the role. But despite his profile growing thanks to Stranger Things, he may not have been a big enough name for the production. (Although a Deadpool movie seems to sell itself enough not to need a big name.) Kyle Chandler was another name attached, and was rumored to be among the disagreements between Reynolds and Deadpool director Tim Miller that led to Miller “amicably” leaving the project. One more name that never probably never had any substance was Pierce Brosnan, who ignited speculation when he posed for a picture with Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds.
Brolin isn’t a choice that any fans should be upset with, however. He’s a big fella with a square jaw who should easily be able to portray the grouchy disposition that should clash well with Reynolds’ wise-cracking mercenary on film. (Playing a younger version of Tommy Lee Jones with Will Smith in Men in Black 3 might have been good practice for that.) If you’ve seen Brolin in No Country For Old Men and Sicario, you know he can also play a badass action hero. He can also bring the funny, which he showed in Hail, Caesar! and Inherent Vice, along with one of his earliest roles in Flirting With Disaster.
(Personally, I was hoping Brolin would be chosen to play Batman before Warner Brothers opted for Ben Affleck. No qualms with Affleck here, but Brolin would have been a great Bruce Wayne and Caped Crusader, in my view.)
Cable will likely be a multiple-movie role for Brolin, as the character is expected to be part of an X-Force film along with Deadpool and a different band of superpowered mutant operatives who are not the X-Men. (Rob Liefeld, who created Deadpool and Cable for Marvel Comics in the 1990s is surely a very happy man.) Apparently, conflicts with his Avengers obligations aren’t an issue. (Though Cable is a Marvel character, 20th Century Fox has the rights to all of the X-Men characters, while Marvel Studios owns the Avengers.)
No exact release date has been announced for Deadpool 2, but the movie is expected to hit theaters in 2018.
