Deadpool might be one of the rare examples of a movie adaptation where a comic book character casting was met with near-universal approval. Part of that is likely due to how devoted Ryan Reynolds was to the title role, as his very involvement is what enabled the film to survive years in development hell and come out on the other ends as a smash hit. Now, attention has turned to the casting of Cable and Domino, two mutants long connected to Wade Wilson who will be showing up in next year's sequel, Deadpool 2.

The casting process for Cable has now seen a number of actors floated as possibilities, ranging from Oscar-winner Russell Crowe to David Harbour of Stranger Things fame and even former James Bond actor, Pierce Brosnan. The Domino casting has seen just as many names mentioned over the past several months, though the speculation ended yesterday when Reynolds took to Twitter to announce that Atlanta star Zazie Beetz will be playing Domino in the Deadpool movie sequel.

Deadpool and Domino creator and comic book writer Rob Liefeld took to Instagram yesterday to celebrate the Domino casting announcement, voicing his support for the selection of Beetz:

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Welcome, Zazie Beetz, to the wonderful world of #Deadpool!! Boy, did Wade's World get a lot more complicated or what?? You are everything I could have hoped for!! #robliefeld #deadpool #xforce #marvel #20thcenturyfox #robiefeldcreations #atlanta #zaziebeetz A post shared by RobertLiefeld (@robliefeld) on

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Perhaps inevitably, fan excitement over Beetz being cast as Domino has been somewhat marred by an all-too-familiar cry from fans who are upset about the character's apparent change in race, from the comic book page to the big screen. While these calls are usually couched in a misplaced idea over white comic book characters needing to remain that way, even when story doesn't support the importance of their race, this one is arguably all the more short-sighted. Why? Because no one ever said Domino was white to begin with.

Liefeld himself confirmed as such, stating that Domino's race has never been firmly established in the Deadpool comics:

Never assigned race to Domino. Wide open, lends perfectly to diverse casting. https://t.co/NAUQ0V6HFm— robertliefeld (@robertliefeld) March 10, 2017

That's just about as definitive of an answer as you can get - and if the character's creator is happy with the casting, it's hard to argue. In recent years, comic book films and TV shows have made greater strides towards being more inclusive (in terms of racial representation) with their casting decisions, in an effort to provide those characters with greater nuance and better represent their audience and world at large. Unlike Black Panther, a character who's defined by his race and nationality, the likes of Quake (played by Chloe Bennet on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) or Jimmy Olsen (played by Mehcad Brooks on Supergirl) have lost nothing, from their respective chances in race on the small screen.

Luckily, most fans seem happy with the Domino casting, as a quick perusal of Twitter will reveal. Following the Deadpool 2 teaser before Logan, audiences are more than primed to see the Merc with the Mouth return to theaters in 2018 and be joined by a group of stalwarts from the comics. With so many ruthless characters in the film, expect it to be even wilder and more violent than the first. In the meantime, check out what one fan thinks Beetz will look like as Domino, and how Reynolds imagines she'll appear in the film.

NEXT: Domino's Comic Book History Explained

Source: Rob Liefeld (via Instagram and Twitter)

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