After months of rumors, shortlists and speculation, Josh Brolin seemingly swooped in from out of left field to take the role of Cable in Deadpool 2. He’s definitely got that gruff attitude on lock, which should make him the perfect foil for Ryan Reynolds’ Merc With a Mouth, but there’s still quite a bit of work to be done to get Brolin ready for the highly-anticipated sequel. Judging by his Instagram posts, the transformation has officially begun.

Despite reports that 20th Century Fox was eyeing Stranger ThingsDavid Harbour and America’s favorite weirdo Michael Shannon for the role of Cable in the Deadpool sequel, the part went to Brolin — who’s now pulling comic book franchise double duty with key roles in both the MCU and the X-Men movie universe. Cable isn’t a one-off part, either: Brolin signed a multi-film contract that includes the upcoming X-Force movie, which he’s expected to headline.

Now that he’s fully committed to Cable and with Deadpool 2 set to begin filming this summer, Brolin is — as The Rock would say — going to work. As you can see in this pic from Brolin’s Instagram, he’s already updated his hair, but that’s the easy part:

That’s not all, of course. Cable is a really buff and formidable mutant, and as you can see in the video below, Brolin is getting pretty jacked for the part — apparently his transformation impressed fellow ripped bro (and Marvel star) Dave Bautista

Brolin’s bicep game isn’t the only thing that’s strong — those hashtags are solid, too (sorry, Ryan Reynolds).

Deadpool 2 also stars Morena Baccarin, TJ Miller, and Brianna Hildebrand, with Atlanta’s Zazie Beetz as Domino. The sequel is set to hit theaters on June 1, 2018.

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