We've known for some time that Brad Pitt was eyed to play Cable in Deadpool 2. Concept art has shown the actor transformed into the time-travelling son of Cyclops and Jean Grey, but the role ultimately went to Avengers: Endgame star Josh Brolin.
While Pitt's busy schedule was to blame for that, he still found the time to make a fun blink-and-you'd-miss-it cameo as X-Force member, The Vanisher.
Talking to Josh Horowitz about his new movie The Fall Guy, Deadpool 2 director David Leitch reflected on trying to cast Pitt as Nathan Summers and explained how that ultimately led to him dying by electrocution on screen (when the invisible mutant parachuted into power lines).
"Ryan [Reynolds] and I went to pitch Brad," Leitch says in the video below. "We had concept art, and it's sort of how the Vanisher cameo came to life. Because I think he entertained it for a bit and I know his schedules wouldn't allow it to happen, so he came and did the cameo for fun."
Producer Kelly McCormick chimed in to say Pitt "looked cool as Cable," confirming Man of Steel star Michael Shannon was also in the running to play the hero. Leitch also revealed that he originally met with Reynolds to discuss an X-Force movie, only for the project to become Deadpool 2.
He also confirmed that there were talks about enlisting Hugh Jackman as Wolverine for the 2018 sequel. "Hugh and I had a great relationship, and I know Ryan always wanted to bring that relationship back together at some point, but I think it was too early on in that conversation," Leitch, who served as a Second Unit Director on The Wolverine, explained.
"It would have been amazing, I think, bringing them together," he added, sharing his excitement for Deadpool & Wolverine by describing the team-up as "genius."
In Deadpool 2, Cable is portrayed as a time-travelling soldier who, just like in the comics, wields a cybernetic arm and advanced weaponry. Born Nathan Summers, he comes from a dystopian future and seeks to prevent a tragedy that drives him to alter the past.
The mutant's main target is a young mutant named Russell "Firefist" Collins, who possesses fiery powers and poses a threat to Cable's future. Initially clashing with Deadpool, their motives gradually align as they work together to protect the young mutant from an even more formidable adversary in Juggernaut.
We still don't know whether Brolin will return as Cable in Deadpool & Wolverine, though we are expecting him to make a cameo appearance at the very least.