Can We Expect To See Josh Brolin Return In Deadpool 3?

After "The Avengers" and before "Infinity War," the superhero genre in 2016 was utterly dominated by the MCU. If you went to see a Marvel movie, you knew exactly what you were getting: an action blockbuster with lovable heroes, somewhat irrelevant villains, and enough age-appropriate jokes along the way to please the adults and fly over the  kids' heads. Enter "Deadpool." With its "in-your-face" attitude, brash adult humor, and uncompromising embrace of everything that an "R" rating would allow, it was the antithesis of everything we'd learned about what a Marvel superhero movie ought to be, and it was immediately a smash success.

A sequel was released in 2018 to similar acclaim, and fans were happy to see that the raunchy adult humor of Ryan Reynolds' chatty assassin remained intact. Even after the character was finally brought into the MCU (in an ironic move by the notoriously child-friendly Disney) it was confirmed there would still be a "Deadpool 3." Kevin Feige confirmed that the next film will maintain its R rating, and that the script will be overseen by Reynolds himself. While fans can breathe easy knowing Reynolds will be returning to the series, the future of another fan favorite character is not quite as certain.

Cable, played by Josh Brolin in "Deadpool 2," is one of the most iconic characters in the "Deadpool" comic series and was a fan favorite from his earliest appearance. Cable is a mutant cyborg from the future who travels back in time to kill his nemesis Stryfe. His serious brooding demeanor was the perfect contrast to Deadpool's over-the-top absurdity, and the two quickly joined forces and starred in their own comic book series together. They formed a sort of "Odd Couple" armed with machine guns and as many one-liners as the writers could fit in the margins.

When Brolin appeared in "Deadpool 2," the chemistry between him and Reynolds translated the heroes' partnership perfectly from the comic to the big screen. It seemed obvious that he was destined to become a returning character within that universe, but unfortunately that is looking less and less likely as we approach the third movie. Brolin recently cast doubt over the future of Cable in the MCU, saying in an interview with ACE Universe, "Deadpool worked out very much in my favor. Deadpool was supposed to be four movies. Maybe there'll be more — I don't know what Marvel has in store — but it turned out to be one really fun movie for me." 

The way he talks about it makes it sound like his role as Cable was simply a one and done for the second film, and while fans can still hold out hope for his return, it's not looking likely.