Liefeld introduced Deadpool as part of the vast repertoire of MarvelsThe New Mutants.
He was a secondary character then, a few years away from headlining his own comic series.
(His previous appearance, in 2009sX-Men Origins: Wolverine, Liefeld addresses below.)
Credit: Deadpool: Michael Muller; Illustration by Rob Liefeld for EW
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY:First of all, thank you for this illustration that you designed for us.
ROB LIEFELD:When you guys asked me, I said, Oh my gosh!
My favorite magazine, since it launched in 1990 or whenever.
And its survived the wars.
I sat down at 9:00 a.m. to work and at 7:00 p.m.
I said, Im done.
So it was just another day at the office?
I took a break for lunch.
I literally started with the lower left corner and went clockwise all around.
It was so much fun.
I was very excited to do it.
When did you first get involved with this current movie ofDeadpool?
And we knew that we couldve done Deadpool better.
She and her staff, they didnt want to do Deadpool right by me, but by the fans.
So we just ran ideas about how to get him right.
The fan outcry regarding Deadpool after that film was kind of severe.
Well, it was like teasing.
The fans had been hyped that the character was great but then the movie went off track.
So what was the result of that meeting?
For those two hours, I acted as an advisor.
Dont do this; yes, do that.
More of this; less of that.
But not knowing if anything I said would be used.
I was just excited to be included, to help get the fans more of the Deadpool they deserved.
Had you met Ryan Reynolds at this point?
I met him shortly after.
What was your first impression of him?
I was shocked at how big he was.
Hes a physical beast.
Im a very average-height man and when Ryan approached me, I said, Wow, youre so tall!
I thought, Hes Deadpool!
Its amazing how the character seems very organic within him.
He has that Adonis presence, the perfect superhero template, and obviously hes super charismatic and charming.
And then then he has that tongue.
You cant play Deadpool without that tongue.
That was very good.
What do you think about the job that director Tim Miller did with the film?
You would never, ever believe that he had not directed a major motion picture before.
It looks like the work of a seasoned vet.
The narrative structure of the film is why I fell in love it.
I wont ask you if you think Deadpool the movie is better than the comic.
But did you ever have that experience of seeing a movie and thinking it was better than the comic?
Ive been collecting comics since I was 5 and I had a stack ofSupermancomics.
Gene Hackmans Lex Luthor was not the Luthor I had seen in the comic books.
He was more of a wisecracking mastermind.
That definitely stuck with me.
And he had hair the whole movie, not until the end did he rip the wig off.
And kryptonite never lookedthatway in the comic that crystalline, chandelier quality.
Deadpools opening credits sequence is a 360-degree swiveling deconstruction of a freeze-framed action scene.
Oh, come on!
Its maybe my favorite part of the movie.
The opening credits are just incredible.
Audiences are so not ready for that and they roar.
And I remember howling back them.
It such a great way to bring us into that world.
And the use of the Juice Newton song is not mocking.
I love all the 80s stuff, from Juice Newton to Wham!
And she said, Oh, gosh, I just love the music!
The music is so great!
So I said, Well, we won her over.
Were you on the set when they were shootingDeadpoolin Vancouver?
I was there for a couple days.
It was so fun to be there and see Ryan do his thing.
I have a blink-and-youll-miss-me little piece in the movie.
Youll likely miss me the first time.
Its in the bar and Deadpool bumps into me and says Liefeld.
Im literally an Easter Egg and very happy to be one.
