With it now confirmed that Cable will be joining the Merc with a Mouth for Deadpool 2, the sequel’s writers have been talking about why the time-travelling, metal-armed, red-eyed, no-nonsense badass is a perfect fit to join Wade Wilson in his next outing.

Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick are back for the sequel, and they were speaking to IGN about this new addition; a character who was essentially confirmed with Deadpool’s post-credits scene.

Reese explained, “There’s a lot about Cable’s history that I like because he’s so intertwined with the world of the X-Men. Why he was put together with Deadpool – other than that he was in a comic that wasn’t selling well and Deadpool was in a comic that wasn’t selling well so they put them together – it’s the same reason we had Colossus; he’s a straight man. And I think Deadpool needs a straight man. Cable is the ultimate, archetypal, silent, strong and cynical warrior, which Deadpool is not.

On what they’re looking for when casting Cable, Wernick added, “Strength, gravitas, a purposefulness that Deadpool doesn’t have. Deadpool’s kind of got ADD, and we think of Cable as someone who locks onto something and is going to get that thing solved no matter what.”

Literally as soon as the word “Cable” was muttered during Deadpool’s cinematic release earlier this year, Avatar’s Stephen Lang threw his hat into the ring as he immediately began campaigning for the gig. Another popular fan suggestion for the role is Hellboy himself, Ron Perlman.

Regardless, there’s no news at this stage on who’ll be playing Cable, the son of the X-Men’s Cyclops and a Jean Grey clone, in Deadpool 2, but we do know that, as well as Reese and Wernick, director Tim Miller and star Ryan Reynolds are both returning.

Expect more on Deadpool 2 as it develops.