‘Deadpool 2’: Russell Crowe As Cable?

It looks like we have another candidate for Cable! The time-traveling mutant soldier is expected to feature heavily in Fox’s Deadpool 2. Naturally fan speculation and fancasting has run rampant, as has the rumor machine. We know that both Kyle Chandler and Stephen Lang were in the running at one point in time, but scheduling conflicts have forced them out. We also know that Mel Gibson was being heavily considered, but our sources report that he has since lost interest in the part. Just recently, we had Pierce Brosnan revealed to be circling the role. Now we have another name: Russell Crowe.

Many sites these days love to run rumors based on who followed who on Twitter. I am not one to believe such a thing justifies a news article, but when an actor is repeatedly tweeting and retweeting about a part in an upcoming blockbuster, things are different. Today, Crowe has been pretty active on in teasing his potential involvement in Deadpool 2 as Cable. The star has retweeted a piece of fan art of himself as the character, shared a poll about his potential casting, and tweeted at comic guru Rob Liefeld at least once.

Reaching out to our own sources, it appears that Crowe is indeed in the mix for the part. That said, he is not yet a lock for the role. It seems that he is simply driving up fan interest about his potential casting, which certainly isn’t the worst way to push a studio into making a deal. After all, were it not for such actions (and fan reactions), Christian Bale might not have been cast as Batman in Christopher Nolan’s trilogy.

Whether it pays off or not is anyone’s guess. Even if Fox is goaded into making an offer, there’s no guarantee that negotiations won’t fall apart or that a push in production might remove Crowe from the running. Still, it’s an enticing idea. While he might seem to target mostly serious fair, Russell Crowe has never really shied away from pulpier entertainment, from his early days (Virtuosity, The Quick and the Dead) to his current ones (The Man with the Iron Fists, Man of Steel). He certainly fits the part and based on his turn in The Nice Guys last year, I think he’d make for a great pairing with Ryan Reynolds.

Just for fun, here’s the BossLogic piece of fan art that I spoke of above…