'Deadpool 2' Enlists Thanos Actor Josh Brolin to Play Cable

Josh Brolin will play Cable in next year's 'Deadpool 2.'

Josh Brolin
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Image via Gage Skidmore

Josh Brolin

Time to put the Mel Gibson and Keira Knightley rumors to rest. Josh Brolin, star of last year's Coen brothers comedy Hail Caesar, will play Cable in Deadpool 2. Brolin beat out Michael Shannon and David Harbour on the shortlist for the role, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Russell Crowe and Brad Pitt were also rumored to have discussed taking the part.

Brolin (a.k.a. Thanos) reportedly inked a deal to play Cable in four movies. Deadpool 2, the sequel to the ubiquitous 2016 hit starring Ryan Reynolds, is aiming to begin production in Vancouver this June in anticipation of a projected 2018 release. Brolin joins previously announced Atlanta star Zazie Beetz, who was cast as Domino in March.

In November, director Tim Miller was replaced by one of the guys behind the burgeoning John Wick franchise: David Leitch. "There is not a human being on earth that worked harder on Deadpool than Tim," Reynolds toldEntertainment Weekly the following month after being named Entertainer of the Year. "He's an incredibly, incredibly talented director."

But once Miller left the film, Reynolds added, the entire Deadpool team's appreciation for Leitch's work made him the natural choice to step in and take charge. "One of the things that David Leitch does that very few filmmakers can do these days is they can make a movie on an ultra tight minimal budget look like it was shot for 10-15 times what it cost," Reynolds said.

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Against an estimated budget of of $58 million, Miller's Deadpool took in just over $363 million in the U.S. for a worldwide total of more than $783 million.

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