Deadpool Creator Raves About Movie
Comic book movie fans everywhere are feverishly anticipating ‘Deadpool,’ the long in-development super (anti-) hero movie which finally lands in February - and if the character’s creator Rob Liefeld is to be believed, the wait will definitely be worth it.
Speaking to USA Today, the writer and artist says, “The movie is a powerhouse. It’s raw … I don’t know how you come out of the theater as someone between the age of 18-30 without this being your favorite movie.”
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The ‘Deadpool’ solo movie was scripted and pitched within a year of the character’s lacklustre introduction in 2009′s ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine,’ but the film spent several years in ‘development hell’ owing to concerns about its tone and content.
However, when it ultimately got the green light in late 2014, it was with the original script and original director Tim Miller attached - and Liefeld (pictured below with ‘Deadpool’ actor Ryan Reynolds) promises it hasn’t been neutered at all.
“When I read the script in 2010, my mouth was on the floor, it was the R-rated spectacle you’re going to see in February.
“And for it to go this long without them screwing with the script is a miracle. It’s a credit to [screen writers] Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick’s genius.”
Whilst ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ has met a lot of criticism for how far it deviated from the character’s representation on the page, it was fairly appropriate that Deadpool be introduced in a Wolverine movie given how closely his origins are associated to the most popular X-Man.
Liefeld explains that, as an up-and-comer at Marvel in 1991, he “didn’t have access to Wolverine, but I backdoored my way into the Wolverine universe. Wolverine is Weapon X. That X stands for 10, correct? Okay, so Deadpool is Weapon IX.
“I took inspiration from the Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito movie Twins. In the middle of that movie, a scientist explains how they were created and he points at Arnold and says, ‘you’re the good stuff,’ and he looks at Devito and says, ‘you’re the crap,’ and that’s Wolverine and Deadpool.”
Liefeld also admits to drawing heavily on another of Marvel’s best-loved characters: “When I pitched Marvel on Deadpool I told them it was Spider-Man with katanas and machine guns.
“Spider-Man was darker in 1991. He was in his thirties with marital problems. So Deadpool was a response to that. I wanted to bring back the smartass sensibilities of the Spider-Man I read as a kid.”
After being introduced in issue 98 of X-Men spin-off ‘The New Mutants,’ initially as a villain, Deadpool rapidly increased in popularity, gradually building into the instantly recognised icon he is today.
We’ll find out whether of not ‘Deadpool’ becomes our new favourite movie when it hits UK cinemas on 4 February 2016.
Picture Credit: 20th Century Fox, Marvel, Instagram/Rob Liefeld
