With production on the anticipated Deadpool sequel under way, director David Leitch and producer/star Ryan Reynolds are still looking for the right guy to play Wade Wilson's reluctant compadre, Cable.

Michael Shannon is reportedly the front-runner to play the gun-toting, psionic antihero in Deadpool 2, so when MTV News caught up with Leitch at CinemaCon on Wednesday (March 29), we asked if there was any truth to these reports. The director confirmed that while "fucking rock star" Shannon is on the Cable short list, 20th Century Fox is still working its way through the list of Hollywood actors, so it's by no means a done deal at this point.

"I'm a huge fan of Michael Shannon, and he's always been on a short list," Leitch told MTV News correspondent Josh Horowitz. "The studio is doing the due diligence to go through the list, and we're going to find the right Cable. If it ends up Michael Shannon, I will be grateful. But there's a lot of great people out there too."

As for how Cable will factor into the Deadpool sequel, given the often contentious working relationship between the Merc with a Mouth and Cable, Leitch said to expect the X-Force leader to wreak a whole lot of "havoc and fun." In fact, when talking about Deadpool 2 and the current creative process, it's hard for Leitch to not use the word "fun." The creative team includes Leitch, Reynolds, executive producer Simon Kinberg, and writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, and according to the director, they're still playing in the wonderfully weird sandbox that is the Deadpool universe.

"Because it's such a fun and free sandbox, we explore ideas and different avenues as they come into our heads," he said. "It's really about exploring things and finding the best movie possible. We're on a really good trajectory with the emotional arc of this character. Now it's about exploring set pieces and fun and the irreverent nature of Deadpool. It's kind of limitless."

So there you have it: Prepare yourself for even more dick jokes in 2018!!!