Josh Brolin's Deadpool Prep Was One Part Panic And One Part Trust

Looking at Josh Brolin's performances in the ambitious superhero two-parter "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame," you wouldn't think that he was the type of actor to succumb to pressure. Brolin is no stranger to comic book adaptations, having been in the running to portray Batman in the DC Extended Universe before the role went to Ben Affleck. That wouldn't be too big of a loss for Brolin, though, as he would go on to portray Thanos, the Mad Titan, in four movies across the Marvel Cinematic Universe, serving as the primary antagonist of The Infinity Saga. And in between those MCU films, Brolin became involved with another Marvel property.

"Deadpool 2," directed by stunt veteran David Leitch, looked to up the ante after the massive success of the first "Deadpool" film in 2016. Deadpool has a rich comic book history, with his partnership with Cable, in particular, being an integral part of his character. Cable was a huge selling point for "Deadpool 2," with the search for an actor to portray the old and disgruntled time traveler eventually ending when Brolin was cast in the role. There was a lot of anticipation leading into Deadpool and Cable's first live-action meetup, and Brolin understandably felt a bit tense when preparing for the role.

Josh Brolin spoke to Den of Geek about his thought process going into "Deadpool 2," explaining the additional complexities that come with playing a comic book character:

"Every preparation is the same, in that [I] deal with it in the same way. Can I do this? Can I pull it off? What do I need to learn? What should I look at? How much should I use my imagination? How much do I have to stick to the comic book? That kind of stuff. That kind of fear, and you gather all of the information and look at it all and panic, and then you start to slowly build this character. The hairdo is very different in this, can we do that, well, it looks better on my head. We know that there's going to be a certain amount of people who won't like it, but then again, if they like the character and we create a character they're able to invest in, they're not really going to care about the hair. There's that trust. You start to build something."

The combination of panic and trust helped Brolin prepare for the role of Cable. The panic is unsurprising, given that adapting beloved characters for the big screen always comes with many fan expectations. The rich history of comic book characters, in particular, is a double-edged sword for those involved with superhero movies.

Comics can be a rich source of material to mine from, but also give those involved with adapting the material a headache when it comes to fans who want everything to be lifted directly from the page (which doesn't always make for a good movie). "Deadpool 2" did indeed take some liberties with characters like Cable and the X-Force team, but what was really important was keeping the spirit of the Deadpool and Cable camaraderie, which was precisely what the film pulled off. Josh Brolin's preparation for the role speaks to the more extensive intricacies of adaptations. The delicate balance of aesthetics and characterization is what brings characters like Cable to life on the big screen.

While Josh Brolin's future in "Deadpool" films is up in the air, given Wade Wilson's upcoming transition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, his preparation for taking on the character is to be admired. Even if "Deadpool 2" is Brolin's first and only appearance as Cable, it is still an entertaining iteration of the character that paired excellently with Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool.