Is Michael Shannon Going to be Cable in Deadpool 2?

Michael Shannon is one of the best character actors working. If you put him in a movie, he’s likely going to steal every scene he’s in. This was even the case when he worked with two of the biggest stars on the planet, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Now DiCaprio and Winslet gave great performances in Revolutionary Road, and it wasn’t at all their fault that when Shannon walked in, as their neighbor’s mentally ill son, he was the most riveting person on screen.

This is what he does. That role earned him an Oscar nomination, as did his turn in last year’s Nocturnal Animals, where once again Shannon took a small role (this time as a Texas cop) and turned it inside out, making you want to watch a whole movie about him.

Shannon’s star has been on the rise for years, starring or co-starring in a bunch of very good films, including Midnight Special, Elvis & Nixon, 99 Homes, and Take Shelter. He’s also done blockbusters—he played General Zod in Zack Synder’s Man of Steel, partaking in arguably the most destructive superhero battle of all time at the film’s bloody climax.

Now, multiple sources have Shannon as the man Fox wants to play Cable in Deadpool 2. The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and Variety all have him as the frontrunner. Yet there have been reports that Kyle Chandler (Bloodline) and David Harbour (Stranger Things) were also in the running.

Cable will be a big role in the film. He was the character who was teased in the post-credits sequence, and Cable and Deadpool have an interesting relationship, to say the least. As we wrote last week, Atlanta’s Zazie Beetz has already been cast as Domino, the luck-changing mutant mercenary and a member of the X-Force. As the leader of the X-Force, Cable is arguably the most important role in the new film, save Deadpool himself, and will require an actor who can not only hold the screen with Ryan Reynolds’ quipping Merc with a Mouth, but will be able to potentially lead his own film one day. Kyle Chandler and David Harbour would be great choices, but Michael Shannon would give Deadpool 2 an edge unlike any other actor.