While Ryan Reynolds is a joke machine in Deadpool 2, constantly riffing and commenting about everything, Josh Brolin's Cable is set up as his total opposite. A soldier from an apocalyptic future, he has a resolute mission to kill the child who grows up to kill his family, and that doesn't leave him a ton of time for playful banter. That being said, Brolin certainly sees the movie as a stepping stone in that direction, as he's very excited to play more with that lighter tone in future films. He recently told me,
You have this personal kind of need, or I do, because [Ryan Reynolds and I] have so much fun together, and we love this kind of irreverence that goes back and forth, and this kind of nemesis feel on social media, or whatever it is. You want to explore it more. Hopefully in X-Force. Once you get to the end of Deadpool 2 you start to see more of that Nick Nolte/Eddie Murphy volley, and I want to explore that more, because I have more fun doing that then just being serious.
I sat down with Josh Brolin earlier this week during the Deadpool 2 junket in New York, and it was in response to my very first question that he revealed his hopes for the future of Cable. I had asked if it was a particular challenge playing such a stoic individual while working opposite Ryan Reynolds' Merc With The Mouth, and he not only told me that it was, but that also that he's hoping it evolves into something different and super fun going forward. It's not exactly a spoiler for the new movie, given the long history between Deadpool and Cable in the pages of Marvel Comics, but sets up exciting ideas for the future.
Referencing the relationship between Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte's characters in the 1980s hit 48 Hrs., Josh Brolin hits on the kind of buddy cop relationship that has long existed between Cable and Deadpool for decades, and it's exciting that he wants to develop more of that. Of course, Cable is certainly the more serious of the two, making Brolin the Nolte to Reynolds' Murphy, but Nolte still has plenty of laugh-out-loud one-liners and moments in the Walter Hill action classic. Furthermore, the precedent goes beyond just that movie, as Danny Glover and Robert DeNiro are both legendary and hilarious in Lethal Weapon and Midnight Run, respectively.
On that note, it should be recognized that Josh Brolin knows that Cable is definitely not the jokester that Deadpool is, and that his characterization in Deadpool 2 is reflective of who the mutant hero is in the comics. The actor followed his comments above with that acknowledgment, referencing an interaction with a person at the film's world premiere the previous night:
Somebody said last night, 'That's the guy, though!' And I know there's a guy who is fanatical about Cable and followed all his trajectories and his histories and all that kind of stuff. And he was like, 'That's who the guy was. So you did justice to who the guy was.' And that's always nice to hear, because you never quite know.
You can watch Josh Brolin discuss his future interests playing Cable in X-Force and beyond by clicking play on the video below!
Josh Brolin should get the opportunity to experience the many layers of Cable in the future, as Deadpool 2 has not only been getting very positive reviews, but looks to make a whole lot of money when it drops into theaters this weekend. Be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend the next few days, as we'll not only be posting more from my interview with Brolin, but also the rest of the cast and filmmakers behind the movie.
