Fans of Deadpool have had reason to be very encouraged about the future of the franchise recently. The very first teaser for Deadpool 2 debuted alongside Logan in theaters, which Fox quickly released online, and the reaction has been insanely positive. This Deadpool 2 sneak peek, which is essentially a short film containing no actual footage from the sequel, hints at the arrival of Cable. But there was no mention of Domino, who we know will be in the movie as well. Despite the character's lack of presence over the weekend, we now hear that Janelle Monae is the frontrunner for the role.

On a recent episode of The Hashtag Show, it was reported that Moonlight and Hidden Figures star Janelle Monae is wanted as Domino. It was previously reported that Scandal star Kerry Washington was in the running, and it isn't clear if things didn't work out with her or if she is also still competing for the part. But this is an interesting development. Despite the La La Land snafu, Moonlight won Best Picture at the Oscars this year and Hidden Figures was also nominated in that category. That gives Janelle Monae a whole lot of star power at the moment and getting her in Deadpool 2 could be a big credit to the movie moving forward.

Janelle Monae has been a big star for a while now, but only recently has that been because of acting. Prior to Hidden Figures and Moonlight she had mostly been known for her music career, for which she was also praised heavily. Though, she did voice a character in Rio 2 in addition to voicing a one-off character in an episode of American Dad. So she has been making a big impact in almost no time at all. Getting cast as Domino in what is easily one of the most anticipated sequels in recent memory would be a massive step forward for her. Aside from Kerry Washington, Sienna Miller and Gugu Mbatha-Raw reportedly passed on the role for undisclosed reasons. Other names that have been thrown in the mix as part of the Domino shortlist include Lizzy Caplan, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Sofia Boutella, Stephanie Sigman and Sylvia Hoeks. The Hashtag Show also recently provided a casting breakdown for the character of Domino, which gives an idea of what we can expect from her in Deadpool 2.

"Neena is a no-nonsense badass who rarely shows her feeling. Highly capable, supremely confident and armored in... well armor... and bullet-proof sarcasm. But beneath her shell she's still and vulnerable and some soft, beating remnant of her humanity remains intact. In this scene we need to see both sides. When she can't get what she needs with insults, bluster and threats we need to see some of that vulnerability. It's hard for her to let down her guard, and in the mercenary community she grew up in showing compassion is almost embarrassing. We should feel like she'd be more comfortable killing Silberman than saying 'Please.'"

As for Cable, it was recently revealed that Stranger Things star David Harbour is being eyed for the role. Former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan also seems to be in the mix, thanks to a couple of social media post from Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, but the casting process appears to be ongoing. In any case, there are a lot of interesting, talented and very different people being thrown around for both roles, so it will be interesting to see who ultimately gets paired up to star alongside Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool 2.

Fox has yet to set a firm release date for Deadpool 2, but in the teaser trailer they did say that the movie will be coming "not soon enough," which means they clearly understand the demand from fans. David Leitch will be directing this time around since Tim Miller decided to depart the project last year over "creative differences." The movie is being written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, who are returning after writing the first Deadpool. Drew Goddard has also been brought on to provide some input. Deadpool 2 is expected to shoot later this year for a release sometime in 2018.