While the fear of superhero fatigue is at the forefront of critics' minds, certain installments in the genre have proven to be game changers for comic book adaptations. Chief among them is Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool, which destroyed expectations in regards to rating and format. Deadpool was cinderella story of 2016, making expectations for the sequel sky high. And while Deadpool 2 has had a rocky road toward development, it did manage to land Josh Brolin as the futuristic mutant Cable. Now Deadpool's creator Rob Liefeld has spoken up about the process that went into casting Cable, and why he was originally worried about it.
Rob Liefeld recently spoke with THR about the future of Deadpool in the comics, as well as the big screen franchise. Regarding the months of speculation regarding Cable's casting in Deadpool 2, Liefeld said the following:
I have never seen a casting derby like the derby there was for Cable. That was like every race I'd ever seen combined into one. Everybody who was 38-65 made sure they put their name in there, and you have no idea some of the names that you didn't hear!...Did I sweat that the wrong guy would get cast? Yes, 100 percent. That kept me up at night, but the planets aligned, everything worked out and I love seeing these videos of Josh pumping those guns.
This sounds like a pretty reasonable concern. After the wild success of Deadpool, Rob Liefeld feared that the wrong actor would be chosen to play Cable, which will therefore affect the film as a whole. Luckily for Liefeld and the fans, the always impressive Josh Brolin eventually signed on to play Deadpool's futuristic straight man.
While Josh Brolin seems like a fantastic choice to play Nathan Summers/ Cable in Deadpool 2, he wasn't the only name thrown around since Cable's inclusion was announced in Deadpool's post credits scene. Early rumors pointed at Friday Night Lights actor Kyle Chandler for the role, while actors like Stephen Lang also campaigned for the role.
And while all three of those gentlemen would have made fine enough Cables, there was also the off chance that the studio would pick a bogus choice, just based on starpower. We've seen this happen with various iconic roles throughout the year, so Rob Liefeld and the audiences were able to relax once Josh Brolin signed on.
In fact, Rob Liefeld actually praised Josh Brolin's casting, saying:
Josh Brolin is a home run any way you cut it.
With Josh Brolin leaving his mark on the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Avengers: Infinity War, it looks like we'll be seeing the actor kick ass and take names for the next few years. But with the tone of Deadpool so unique to superhero films, we likely won't be able to even recognize the same actor in both roles. Plus, he's purple as Thanos.
Be sure to check back with us here at CinemaBlend for updated about Deadpool 2, and check out our full 2017 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
