WARNING: This article contains Deadpool 2 SPOILERS
It’s official: Brad Pitt is a member of X-Force thanks to Deadpool 2. There was a time when that sentence would have stunned the world, and comic book movie fans most of all, anchoring a massive X-Force movie franchise around one of Hollywood’s heaviest hitters. But then… this is Deadpool we’re talking about. Which means Pitt’s role ended almost as soon as it began.
The bad news is that Brad Pitt’s cameo was widely reported by some outlets after the first press screenings, meaning many fans who would have been stunned to see his cameo were spoiled. Still, most moviegoers will get their first glimpse of Pitt in Fox’s X-Men movie universe without warning. And as the payoff to one of the movie’s most surprising (and last-minute) gags.
The good news is that all the attention given to Brad Pitt’s part probably helped preserve Matt Damon’s own Deadpool 2 cameo. Still, Pitt gets to take to the skies as an official, founding member of X-Force nonetheless. It may not be the role of Cable - the mutant superhero he once had his eye on - but it’s deserving of some explanation nonetheless.
Brad Pitt is Vanisher in The X-Men Movie Universe
If you had taken bets before the release of Deadpool 2 as to which superhero movie role would eventually be brought to life by Brad Pitt, the responses would have been varied. But one name we can guarantee wouldn’t have been on that list is “Vanisher,” the mutant recruited by Deadpool for his ability to turn invisible. Or, maybe just be invisible, since that seems to be his normal state of being.
That character description alone shows that the name may have been the main reason for Vanisher’s inclusion in the film’s story. It’s a joke in itself, and is delivered as such by Weasel. It doesn’t seem that much else about the character Telford Porter has been adapted to film. In the comics, Vanisher’s ability and name were tied to teleporting, not invisibility.
And judging by Vanisher’s fate in Deadpool 2, we can assume that if he was capable of teleporting out of trouble… he would have.
As those who have seen the movie now know, the introduction of Vanisher seems like a throwaway gag among the other single-joke X-Force “interviews.” Only when the team assembles for their mission in a helicopter is it confirmed: Vanisher is real, he is invisible, and he’s strapped into his parachute like everybody else. Sadly, his fate is the same as every team member besides Domino.
For Vanisher, his death comes relatively quickly, having his parachute blow him into power lines and dying from the resulting electricity coursing through his body. Whatever made his invisibility possible can’t match the deadly current, causing him to flicker into view just long enough to make out Brad Pitt’s face, jaw clenched, jittering, and emitting a muffled scream as his ticket is punched.
Brad Pitt Was Still a Cable, After All!
It’s possible that casual movie fans completely missed the rumors that surrounding Pitt prior to the movie’s release. In fact, it wasn’t until concept artwork of Brad Pitt as Cable surfaced online that people realized how much of a frontrunner for the part he really was. Instead of keeping silent or refusing to comment, director David Leitch confirmed Pitt was in the running - but had since dropped out (for the usual reasons).
But knowing how Pitt ended up in the final cut of the film, see if one part of Leitch’s comment stands out:
Plenty of fans will share that assessment, even if Josh Brolin’s take on Cable is also a crowd-pleaser. But consider that Brad Pitt appears in Deadpool 2 for just a single shot, being roasted to a fiery crisp by overhead power cables.
“We had a great meeting with Brad, he was incredibly interested in the property. Things didn’t work out schedule-wise. He’s a fan, and we love him… I think he would’ve made an amazing Cable.”
Whether it’s a total coincidence, or a sign that Leitch was playfully alluding to the cameo he had in mind, you have to admit: the efficiency of Vanisher’s electrocution proves that, in the end, Brad Pitt did make an amazing cable.
