‘Avengers’ star is unsure why he’s not in the new MCU film

Josh Brolin has candidly reacted to his absence from the forthcoming Deadpool film.

The actor played Cable in the first two films, but has revealed he did not get the invite to return for the new film, which, according to its director, is not a third film in the Deadpool franchise.

Instead, it’s a film shared by both Deadpool and Wolverine starring Welcome to Wrexham star Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, who has reprised his role of the grizzled mutant despite seemingly retiring him in 2017’s Logan.

In a new interview, it was pointed out to Brolin that, while he’s not attached to the project, his name appears on its list of credits on IMDb. When Bingeworthy asked him if this means he actually will be in the film, Brolin said: “Am I? Yes! I so wanted to be in that movie.”

Explaining his absence from the film, the actor, who is promoting the new season of Prime video series Outer Range, then told the podcast: “[Marvel] is a more complex labyrinth than Outer Range will ever be, my friend. And I will never know where that went or what that is or what I’m involved with or what I’m not involved with – the MCU being so involved now.

He added: “Cable was a lot of fun. I really liked doing that role. That was a lot of fun.”

Brolin previously played the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) villain Thanos. The new Deadpool film, titled Deadpool & Wolverine, will be the first to be released under the MCU umbrella – something the trailer makes several references to.

Director Shaun Levy described the film as a “two-hander” between the two characters, telling Screen Rant at CinemaCon last month: “It’s a different thing that’s very much Deadpool and Wolverine. It’s not trying to copycat anything from the first two movies. They were awesome, but this is a two-hander character adventure.”

The film, which will be released on 26 July, is expected to be Marvel’s biggest hit in a while after lacklustre box office showings for Captain Marvel sequel The Marvels and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

It will also be Marvel’s only big screen release in 2024, but next year will be business as usual, with Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts set to be released alongside reboots of Fantastic Four and Blade.

Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford will head up Captain America: Brave New World, while Thunderbolts will also star Ford alongside Florence Pugh. Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and The Bear star Ebon Moss-Bachrach will play the Fantastic Four, with Mahershala Ali playing the MCU’s Blade.