'Avatar' Villain Stephen Lang Campaigning To Play Cable In 'Deadpool 2'

20th Century Fox has already announced development of a Deadpool sequel, a decision they made before the first film had even hit theaters. Clearly the audience reaction from early screenings and critical buzz was enough to give the studio confidence in a sequel. Of course, this is the same studio that staked out a date for Fantastic Four 2, but ended up giving it the can when the first movie didn't perform and was pretty much universally panned.

Thankfully, Deadpool is exceeding expectations at the box office, landing a record February box office haul of $135 million for the Presidents' Day weekend and has been very well received by critics and audiences alike. So it sounds like Deadpool 2 is a forgone conclusion, and one actor is already campaigning for a pivotal role that was teased in the scene after the credits of the movie. Find out more below.

If you haven't seen Deadpool yet, and you don't want any spoilers for the credits scene, then stop reading right now.

After all the credits have rolled, Deadpool comes out in a parody of the end credits scene from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. After it seems the scene is over, Deadpool comes back out and reveals that they're bringing Cable into the fray for the sequel. Even though no one has been set to play the character yet, the Merc with a Mouth mentions Mel Gibson, Dolph Lundgren, and Keira Knightley as possibilities, but if one actor has his way, none of them will get the part.

Avatar villain Stephen Lang has taken to Twitter this weekend to begin campaigning for the role:

I gotta say, Lang isn't a bad choice to play Cable, aka Nathan Summers, the adult son of Cyclops (Scott Summers) in the comics. He's got the grizzled look, he's clearly in shape, and we know he's a force to be reckoned with on the big screen. However, I'm not sure Lang is a big enough name to take on a character like that. Now that Deadpool is a huge hit, they'll have some extra money to spend for the sequel, and a role like Cable will likely end up going to a better known actor.

For my money, Mel Gibson sounds like an incredible idea for casting Cable, though considering his profile in show business right now, that might stir up some controversy. Other decent options could be Jon Hamm or Russell Crowe. I've seen Liev Schreiber's name tossed around by fans as well, but since he already played Sabretooth in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I can't see that as a possibility. Though since this is a Deadpool movie we're talking about, his casting would allow for some more meta jokes making fun of that awful prequel.

For now we'll just have to sit back and enjoy Deadpool being a massive success, one that will hopefully have studios taking more risks to make some more adult comic book fare that goes for the R-rating when necessary. But in the meantime, let us know who you think should play Cable in Deadpool 2 in the comments.