Deadpool recently made his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and very quickly became a fixture of it. Portrayed by Ryan Reynolds, the Merc With A Mouth made his MCU debut in Deadpool and Wolverine (alongside Hugh Jackman's iconic X-Man) in a loud, in-your-face multiversal movie that has received critical acclaim and reinforced Marvel Studios' dominance as the champions of the box office, grossing over $1.3 billion.
But Deadpool has been a fixture of the movie landscape for far longer than that, headlining two films in his own movie series before Disney bought 20th Century Fox. And he has been a fixture of Marvel Comics for even longer, making his debut in the pages of the graphic novels back in 1990.
There is one man responsible for the character's success and he has now announced his departure from the Marvel Entertainment franchise altogether.
Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld leaves Marvel after movie premiere snub
Deadpool creator Rob Liefled has announced his departure from Marvel Entertainment after three decades with the comic book giant. As reported by Deadline, the comic book creator made the announcement publicly on his podcast Roberservations, saying that it all came about after he was snubbed at the July 2024 premiere of Marvel Studios' Deadpool and Wolverine.
During that episode, which is titled Marvel: Access Denied, he revealed that he was ignored by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige on the red carpet and that the photographs he had taken on the night of the premiere with those involved in the movie were ultimately deleted. He then went on to say that he and his family were not invited to the event's afterparty.
"It was meant to embarrass, diminish, defeat me... At some point, you go, ‘I’ve received the message, and the message is clear."
The comic book legend also called out studios in general, saying that "Marvel's treatment of creators has never been their strength", adding:
"Without the worlds, the characters and the concepts that we create — and in this specific case, the world of Deadpool — there are no films to shoot. No blockbusters to distribute."
"Blockbusters" is an appropriate word, for the Deadpool film series has amassed a whopping box-office total of $2.8 billion across just three films. Ryan Reynolds first took on the role in the 2016 movie Deadpool, which was a part of the Fox X-Men movie series. He then reprised it in the 2018 sequel Deadpool 2 prior to the studio's purchase by Disney.
Liefeld said that the experience was totally different with the Fox movies, as they had him "along for the ride" in a cameo appearance, to which he "caused zero drama". He said he was "just happy to be there".
Liefeld is a veteran of the comic book industry, with over four decades of experience to his name. In 1990, he co-created Deadpool with writer Fabian Nicieza, with the character's debut coming in X-Force No. 98 - the series that Liefled was working on at the time. And the Merc With A Mouth isn't the only character who he has created, as he also brought X-Men character Cable to life, along with Louise Simonson. Interestingly, when he left Marvel shortly afterwards, he and a number of fellow comic book creators founded Image Comics - which remains one of the best-known comic book publishers today.
Now that Deadpool is a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he is expected to continue appearing in the franchise, with rumors of a Deadpool and Wolverine sequel and reports of the titular pair potentially even popping up in the upcoming Avengers movies.