Josh Brolin Will Play Cable in the ‘Deadpool’ Sequel, Disproving Months of Rumors

Superhero cinema’s goofiest goofball has finally found his straight man, and he wasn’t one of the actors rumored to be up for the role.

Josh Brolin will co-star in the sequel to Deadpool, according to Hollywood Reporter, and what’s more he’ll be playing Cable, the former leader of The New Mutants and X-Force who squared off against “the merc with a mouth” in Deadpool’s first appearance, waaaaaaay back in New Mutants #98, which came out 26 years ago.

In the years that followed Cable and Deadpool became unlikely co-stars, the self-seriousness of the older mutant playing off of the unabashed silliness of the younger antihero. Their adventures spanned fifty issues of the comic book Cable & Deadpool, from 2004 to 2008, and now they are generally considered two of the best mismatched partners in comic book history.

Marvel Comics

Also: The Top 12 Greatest Superhero Movie Trailers Ever

The appearance of Cable in the second Deadpool movie was, of course, teased by Deadpool himself in his first blockbuster outing. At the end of the credits the character, played by Ryan Reynolds, not only revealed that Cable would be in the sequel but that they were seriously considering casting Keira Knightley, a decision that would have been rather off-kilter but, perhaps, kind of genius.

In the months that followed, however, all the casting rumors for Cable were as conventional as you might expect from Hollywood, leaning towards older white men who looked quite a bit like the comic book version of the character. Amongst the actors popularly rumored for the role – with varying degrees of credibility – included Brad Pitt (World War Z), Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals), Kyle Chandler (Manchester By The Sea), Pierce Brosnan (No Escape), and David Harbour (Stranger Things).

All of those rumors, of course, turned out to be total hogwash. Even if some or all of these thespians were in talks for the character, they didn’t get the part, and that’s what matters. Instead, Cable will be the latest comic book role for Josh Brolin, an Oscar-nominated actor who also previously appeared in Jonah HexMen in Black 3 and Guardians of the Galaxy, and who will reprise his role as the Marvel supervillain Thanos in the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War.

The Deadpool sequel is currently expected to be released in 2018.

Eight Iconic Superhero Fights You Will Never See in a Movie:

Top Photo: Matthias Nareyek/WireImage

William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon, and watch him on the weekly YouTube series What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.

TRENDING


X