Multiple sources are saying that Michael Shannon, who has already done time in a comic book film as Zod in Man of Steel, is the man that Fox wants to play Cable in Deadpool 2. But then, there are so many reports about this role that it’s getting really confusing.
Cable in the comics (Image: Marvei)
The first recent iteration of this story came from The Hollywood Reporter, which called Shannon the “frontrunner” for the part. Today, Deadline and Variety have also reported that Shannon is the “first choice” and (again) “frontrunner”. And yet, he’s just the latest addition to a long list.
We heard Kyle Chandler’s name a while back (his casting was supposedly part of the argument that lead to director Tim Miller leaving the movie) and, more recently, David Harbour (Stranger Things) has appeared on the list of possible actors.
There’s also a story from earlier in March, from Collider‘s Cooper Hood, which stated that while Shannon was considered for a hot second, his schedule didn’t fit that of Deadpool 2. So either his schedule changed or the recent spate of stories comes from that earlier conversation.
There’s also the fact that Shannon may not want to pick up another superhero film, after spending so much of his time over the last few years answering questions about Man of Steel and Batman v Superman. Or maybe, like Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds, he’d like the chance to do another iconic comic book character — this time, one he’d like to talk about even more.
Cable is a huge role for Deadpool 2, one which was teased in the post-credits sequence and whose relationship with Deadpool is one the fans are clamouring to see on the big screen. It makes sense that there are a lot of names floating around while they seek the perfect person for the part. It sounds like at least someone in the studio is sure it’s Michael Shannon. Who knows if Shannon agrees?