‘Deadpool’ Creator Rob Liefeld ‘Mourns the Loss’ of Donald Glover’s Animated FX Series: ‘The Whole Thing Was Brilliant’
Zack Sharf
Donald Glover fans still heartbroken over the cancelation of his animated “Deadpool” series will only be more upset to learn Rob Liefeld, the superhero’s comic book creator, loved Glover’s vision for the television show. FX originally ordered 10 episodes of the series from Donald and Stephen Glover, both of whom are behind “Atlanta,” but the network announced in March it was parting ways with the project over “creative differences.” Liefeld spoke with Variety on the “Ant-Man and the Wasp” red carpet and mourned the loss of the series.
“I thought the whole thing was brilliant,” Liefeld said of the animated series. “And I really can’t say anything more than that or I’ll get into all sorts of trouble from every side.”
Liefeld continued by praising Glover: “I mourn the loss of that entire project. Donald is a genius, and I’ll always wonder how that would have worked out. But Marvel says: ‘Rob, good things are coming.’ And good things have always come, so I’m gonna believe them and hang on for dear life.”
Donald Glover responded to the show’s cancelation in March by publishing a 15-page “Deadpool” script to his Twitter page. The post, accompanied by a caption that read, “For the record: I wasn’t too busy to work on ‘Deadpool,’” has since been deleted. The script was for a mock episode of the show and it took specific jabs at Marvel. One scene featured Deadpool speaking to a rhino and asking if Marvel decided to cancel the series “cause of racism?!”
“All the writers were black,” Deadpool said in the script. “And the references were pretty black, too. I heard they went over the lunch budget ordering Jamaican food at least once a week… Doesn’t Marvel have enough feel-good minority shows everyone supports but doesn’t watch? I mean, I think our show woulda been funny. I just wanted a place to be honest. And I guess that place is Freeform.”
The mock script made it appear as if the “creative differences” were between Glover and Marvel, not his “Atlanta” network FX. The series was intended to air on FXX. Glover’s “Atlanta” finished its second season on FX in May and will return for a third round of new episodes in 2019.
While FX will no longer air Glover’s “Deadpool” series, its relationship with Marvel lives on with the series “Legion.” The superhero adaptation wrapped up its second season this month and has been renewed for a third.
