The X-Men franchise is in a period of transition right now, with the impending Disney/Fox deal casting the future of a handful of post-New Mutants Fox projects into doubt while Marvel Studios remains tight-lipped about their intentions for the characters. But amidst all this uncertainty, Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld is sure of at least one thing: the Merc with a Mouth will team up with Wolverine.
Granted, these may not be the versions of Wade Wilson and Logan that we know best, with Hugh Jackman showing no sign of changing his mind about leaving his most famous role in the past. But as the Logan star himself has said, you can expect somebody else to fill the role sooner or later, and when that happens, Liefeld believes the fans will finally get the Deadpool/Wolverine crossover that they’ve been asking for, telling ComicBook.com that it’s inevitable.
“I feel like it’s inevitable,” Liefeld said. “I wish that it was Hugh and Ryan. There’s no guarantee that’s going to happen. But look, I do believe Marvel films has, whatever you call them. Marvel Cinematic Universe, they are really good at giving people what they want, and sometimes giving them what they don’t really understand they need the most, like Thor and Rocket Raccoon, okay.”
Of course, Liefeld is only speculating here, and he goes on to admit that he has “no idea” when or where this team-up might happen, or which actors will be involved. Nonetheless, the public demand for the crossover is undeniable, though the next Wolverine, whoever he may be, will surely have his work cut out for him trying to win fans over as a worthy replacement for Jackman.
As for Deadpool, the future of Ryan Reynolds’ take on the character still feels a little mysterious. One report from earlier this month, for instance, alleged that the planned X-Force film is unlikely to happen under Fox, prompting Liefeld himself to take to Twitter to commiserate the death of the movie. Nonetheless, Deadpool 2 writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick seemed to be under the impression this week that plans for the project will be moving forward, so perhaps it’s best if we wait and see how this hazy situation all plays out before we jump to any conclusions.