Cable Deserves His Own Movie Instead of A Deadpool Sequel Role

WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Deadpool 2, in theaters now.

Deadpool 2 is proving to be another hit for Twentieth Century Fox, and one of the major elements receiving praise from fans and critics alike is Josh Brolin's performance as the time-traveler, Cable. In Deadpool's film continuity, he left the future to eliminate Russell (Julian Dennison), a young mutant destined to become Firefist and kill Cable's family.

Ultimately, Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) prevents Cable from completing his mission, and after safeguarding his family's future, Cable remains in the present with Wade Wilson, Domino and company.

But despite his role at the center of Deadpool 2's story, apart from a few snippets here and there, we don't get much insight into Cable's backstory. Talks have suggested Cable's past ordeals will be fleshed out in future Deadpool movies, but honestly, whether it's in a Deadpool threequel or an X-Force film, his origins simply won't be done justice there.

Instead, given the depth of the character, and the potential director David Leitch has created, Cable and his untold backstory warrants a solo flick to properly introduce audiences to his rich, if somewhat confusing, history.

Cable is a complex individual but in Deadpool 2, he's been simplified from a man on a mission, to a man lost in time. That said, if his past is to be truly explored, it needs its own space, not in an ensemble film where he'll be bogged down or distracted by others. If his history is limited to mere flashbacks, it will only rob fans of what the character truly deserves.

A film solely dedicated to his origin would do Cable immense service, properly building to the moment where he came home and found his family incinerated, which in turn inspired him to time-slide into Deadpool 2. In keeping the focus on him, Fox can dive into the many aspects of the character which are available to explore, and tell a truly riveting tale in the process.

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First, while Cable hasn't been confirmed in-story as a mutant, there's a massive blank slate to fill in if it turns out he's really Nathan Summers, the offspring of Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor (a Jean Grey Clone). A retcon can easily make him a descendant of Scott and Jean, cleaning up his insanely convoluted comic book origin story, and detailing how his heritage was what actually helped him stave off the techno-organic virus ravaging his body. This battle to avoid becoming more machine than man is one mainstream audiences would easily grasp, while longtime fans would still see how his lineage saved his humanity. Such an angle would chart a natural path towards exploring the Summers family tree, maybe in a time where X-Men don't even exist anymore. We would meet Cable's daughter, Hope, and possibly his mentor, Rachel Summers -- both influential psychics and hosts for the Phoenix Force in the comics.

A comprehensive backstory could expand on the war he was part of, outside of hunting the likes of Firefist; Cable has run afoul of some of the X-Men's biggest villains in the books, after all. Stryfe, his evil clone, is an obvious choice, but the studio also has a shot at redeeming characters it failed with in the past, and more so, villains who have an organic connection to Cable. Apocalypse is one of them, because as per the source material, he was the one who actually infected Cable with the techno-organic virus. The studio can fiddle with continuity, shape a reborn version of Apocalypse, or simply deploy time-travel as a deus ex machina to resurrect him to build this feud.

Bishop, a peripheral figure in X-Men: Days of Future Past, can be returned to the mix as well, as he's another time-traveller who often finds himself at odds with Cable. With seeds planted for Mr. Sinister, aka Nathaniel Essex, to arrive in Fox's X-Men universe as the man who was responsible for manipulating Cable's birth, there may even be room for this near-immortal villain to act as an antagonist in Cable's dystopian era.

Finally, a solo outing would allow us to fully understand how Cable became a one-man army, especially with the vast array of technology he's packing. It'd make sense to have a genius inventor like Forge making his weapons, especially his time-slider, all informing just who is this anti-hero appearing in Deadpool 2. If anything, finding out more about his allies and the lives he was sworn to protect could give us a story similar to the dark, gritty Logan James Mangold brought to life. Ultimately, such intriguing individuals like Cable deserve their own character study, and with the proper attention, Fox could have a futuristic epic on its hands.

Directed by David Leitch, Deadpool 2 features Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, Stefan Kapičić as the voice of Colossus, and Karan Soni as Dopinder, with newcomers Zazie Beetz as Domino, Josh Brolin as Cable, Julian Dennison as Russell and Jack Kesy as Black Tom Cassidy.