Deadpool 2 Director Explains How The Movie Approaches Cable’s Origin

Deadpool 2 will bring Marvel’s time-traveling mutant mercenary Cable to the big screen for the first time, as played by Josh Brolin, though adapting a character such as Cable poses a special sort of challenge.

In addition to being among the Marvel Comics characters with the biggest and best guns and shoulder pads, as well as the most pouches, Cable also has one of the most confusing and convoluted backstories and continuity in Marvel Comics history. Director David Leitch plans to be fairly selective about which portions of the character’s history make it into Deadpool 2.

“Look, I think besides all of the Deadpool, sort of the film universe Deadpool, you kind of have to be selective of like how you approach these characters because there’s a canon of work that’s so massive that you could never put it all on screen,” Leitch tells ScreenRant. “So we’ve been really particular what we’re going to put in and what we’re going to leave for potential future if it goes that way and, uh, I think you’ll like it. It’s all in the spirit of canon, and also in the spirit of like what Deadpool the movie is.”

In the Marvel Comics universe, Cable’s real name is Christopher Nathan Summers and he is the son of the X-Man called Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor, his wife who was also a clone of his then deceased ex-girlfriend Jean Grey. Later, after Pryor turned into a supervillain and Jean came back from the dead, Nathan was infected with a techno-organic virus and sent into the future where he could be treated. He was raised by Mother Askani, who turned out to be the future version of his sister from another timeline, Rachel Summers, who also brought Cyclops and Jean Grey’s consciousness into the future where they helped raise their son without ever actually telling him who they were.

Cable grew up to be a master soldier and tactician and was looked at as the last, best hope for the future. He then went back in time to prevent the rise of his arch nemesis, Apocalypse but was also threatened by, Stryfe, a clone of Cable that Mother Askani created just in case something bad happened to the original Cable, but who then went rogue.

As mentioned, it’s complicated, and it only gets more complicated when you take into account how many times Cable’s future-history has been altered through time travel. It will definitely take some streamlining to create a successful live-action version of the character for consumption by mainstream audiences.

In the meantime, check out the episode of ComicBook.com’s Major Issues above in which we look at Cable’s first appearance in New Mutants #87.

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David Leitch (John Wick) will direct the sequel, taking over for original Deadpool director Tim Miller.

Ryan Reynolds will return as Wade Wilson, a.k.a. Deadpool, the Merc with a Mouth. For the sequel, he’ll be joined by Josh Brolin as Cable. Cable was co-created by Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld and Louise Simonson. He has often been paired with Deadpool as his grim, serious demeanor serves as the perfect foil to Deadpool’s crude and zany humor. The duo headlined an ongoing comic book series, Cable & Deadpool, for 50 issues.

Atlanta star Zazie Beetz has also been cast in Deadpool 2. She will play Domino, a mutant with probability manipulation abilities that endows her with improbably good luck. In the Marvel Comics Universe, Domino was a member of Cable’s mercenary crew, Six Pack, and one of his early love interests.

Jack Kesy has been cast in an undisclosed villain role, speculated to be Black Tom Cassidy. Shioli Kutsuna has also joined the production in an undisclosed “key” role.

Deadpool 2 opens in theaters on June 1, 2018.

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