I had the awesome opportunity to speak with Deadpool’s co-creator, Rob Liefeld about his iconic character and the film of the same name. I had a great chat with Rob and learned a lot of fascinating tidbits about Wade Wilson it was refreshing to speak to a such a passionate creator who so clearly loves this character. With excitement ramping up for Deadpool 2 lets get to my Conversation with Rob Liefeld About Deadpool and Deadpool’s Success
Without further ado, here is my conversation with Rob Liefeld
What was the inspiration behind the creation of Deadpool?
There is a lot of books out there that are drawn nice, I have my own style, and fans were reacting to anything I did, but its characters that we come back for … It gets down to the motivation I had to have a character that upset the apple cart, and came in to whip the ass of the team, to establish that there is more that you don’t know about this character, because Deadpool had a past with him.
Now when I pitched him to Marvel, I asked if he could be associated with Wolverine’s weapon-X program. We had never seen the Roman numerals for 1-9, I figured if they made 10 Wolverines maybe they all did not come out very well, so we are going to tell the story of the guy the program screwed up and he ran away from. You have to have some broken eggs to have an omelet – Deadpool was the broken egg.
Did you have any idea when you first created Deadpool in New Mutants that he would go on to be such a popular guy?
It was a mix of right place, right time, right energy and the reward came.
Why do you think Deadpool is so popular?
Because he’s a freakin badass! Ninja characters are always the most popular, plus we are a visual culture. Deadpool is a great looking visual.
Do you have an opinion either good or bad on how Deadpool was introduced in X-Men Origins: Wolverine?
I think reaction to the character was bad. Ryan Reynolds is a perfect match for Deadpool. Fans felt betrayed, they were trying to get it right because they didn’t do right by Deadpool in Origins, they just needed to course correct, and they did it with the new movie.
How did it come about to have Deadpool break the fourth wall in his comics?
Over 25 years there have been great applications and additions to Deadpool. I’m fairly certain it was Joe Kelly who broke the fourth wall on Deadpool and added an entirely new element for fans who may not have been into the character.
There been a lot of discussion about the Deadpool film being rated ‘R’, in your opinion, does Deadpool need to be R-rated in order for the portrayal to be right?
Deadpool wasn’t an R-rated comic. Deadpool in comics wasn’t even PG-13 … Name one time Wolverine told Magneto and Xavier to, “Fuck off,” – he never did. Filmmakers took 25 years of Deadpool and didn’t turn down the wrong lane, [they] took all the good stuff of Deadpool and put it in one stew. Deadpool in the movie is a unique experience that keeps the spirit. Deadpool honors the spirit of the Deadpool character. He had some really good, witty and funny writers.
I told [the] writers, ‘Thank you for giving me a new experience with which to look at the character. A breath of fresh eyes on [the] property, that’s what the movie has supplied.’ I’m very excited to talk about Cable now.
With Deadpool being an R-rated film, does that trap him in his own film bubble or do you think he could appear in a PG-13 X-Men film such as Wolverine 3?
Of course they can implement him in other movies if they want him to. I think he will usher in a new age of R-rated X-Men movies and expand the brand. I do think they could utilize him in other X-Men movies, but that is beyond my pay-grade. I’m a huge fan of Simon Kinberg, I have watched him since X-Men: First Class assert greater authority over the franchise, and improve it 100%. He knows, I think, that I told it to him four years ago when Deadpool was not getting made and as an X-men fan he really has helped improve the scope of the stories, the weight of the stories.
Who is your favorite superhero?
People always think I’m going to say one of my own, but it’s always going to be Wolverine. Wolverine is my favorite character of all space and time.
Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me about Deadpool!
You bet buddy! Thank you very much!
The release of Deadpool 2 is coming in January 18th 2018, so tell us in the comments below are you excited for Deadpool 2? and if so what do you want to see in Deadpool 2?
