Disney hasn't yet closed their purchase of Fox's media assets, but the deal is drawing ever nearer, meaning that the X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool franchises will be under the control of Marvel Studios before we even know it. That has raised many questions. Specifically, that of how Disney, a very PG/PG-13, family friendly company is going to handle the Merc With a Mouth. Creator Rob Liefeld isn't terribly worried, as he thinks Ryan Reynolds has a long future ahead of him in the Marvel universe, even after the merger is complete.
Rob Liefeld, who created Deadpool, as well as Cable, Domino and a host of other characters for Marvel Comics, recently appeared at Wizard World Comic Con in Austin. During a panel I was in attendance at, he was asked about any information he may have regarding the character's future once the merger is complete. Liefeld made it clear that this was just his opinion, but he had this to offer the room full of fans.
"This is my theory, my opinion. Did you guys see when Josh (Brolin) came out at D23? They introduced him as Thanos. He came out and he looked like Cable and the internet blew up. 'Josh Brolin as Cable just came out on stage!' That was my entire Twitter feed. And you saw Josh, looking like Cable and he even had a cut across his eye because they were filming Deadpool at the time, and I was like, 'Oh look. Cable is on screen promoting Thanos.' And that was the first time they blended together on screen. Imagine whatever Disney function that they bring out everybody, [Robert] Downey Jr., [Chris] Evans, all of the people you've already seen, [Chris] Pratt. And then Ryan Reynolds walks on stage. I think the world will explode because that's all people want, is for him to take the piss out of everybody. And here's the thing, my only fear is that they're never gonna make another Deadpool. They're just gonna run around Marvel movies making fun of everybody."
While the idea of Disney making a movie like Deadpool 2 seems unlikely, they aren't a company that likes to walk away from money. And Ryan Reynolds has proved that there is still a lot of money to be made when it comes to this character. Plus, Disney CEO already indicated when the merger was first announced that they are open to exploring the possibility of R-rated movies down the line.
It seems downright certain that Kevin Feige and the folks at Marvel Studios will abandon the X-Men continuity in favor of folding those characters into the MCU on their own terms. With Deadpool though, things get interesting. A few cameos aside, he largely exists in his own corner of the universe and also has that wonderful, fourth-wall breaking ability. So they could find a way to keep Ryan Reynolds in the role moving forward. Rob Liefeld continued, saying he feels Reynolds is far from done.
"Ryan is going to have a long and glorious career in the Marvel universe. And I hope Spider-Man is somehow there, I know that's a Sony thing, but I just think, once he's sitting there with Downey Jr., and Chris Evans or Chris Pratt, myself? I won't know what to do with myself."
Again, Rob Liefeld made it clear this is just what he thinks, but he has developed a nice relationship with Ryan Reynolds and those at Fox over the years. One has to imagine he sort of knows what he's talking about. If he's right, we don't have to worry about Deadpool going anywhere, any time soon, even after Disney takes over.