X-Force Movie: Who Owns Cable's Movie Rights?

Ever since news broke of an upcoming X-Force movie, fans have debating which mutants will be part of the team. To clear things up, X-Force creator Rob Liefeld tweeted, "I can pretty much eliminate some sites suggestion that the Milligan X-Statix stuff is in the mix. An X-Force film is Cable. Is Deadpool." When Comicbook.com posted the Cable and Deadpool tweet from Rob Liefeld, some fans questioned whether Rob Liefeld would have any say in the matter, as the X-Force movie rights would be owned by 20th Century Fox. While it's true that 20th Century Fox would make the ultimate decision in whether an X-Force movie gets made, it also makes sense that Rob Liefeld would have knowledge of what was going on, as the creator of X-Force. In fact, when a fan asked Rob Liefeld if 20th Century Fox would be getting him involved, he tweeted, "Been involved for years!" It might not be Rob Liefeld's decision if Cable and Deadpool are in X-Force, but he would likely be in the know as the creator of both of those characters. Also, it would be incredible stupid for 20th Century Fox to make an X-Force movie and not include Cable and Deadpool. Throughout the history of the X-Force, those are the two characters most closely associated with the team and that fans want to see on the big screen. 20th Century Fox is going to want to include the fan favorites, because they know those characters will have the potential to spin-off into standalone films. Another big question that has been raised is exactly who owns the film rights to Cable. Since Cable first appeared as Nathan Summers in Uncanny X-Men #201 and debuted as Cable in New Mutants #87, it would seem to indicate very clearly that he is part of the X-Men franchise, which 20th Century Fox owns the film rights to. What seems to be creating controversy around the issue is an old report from Variety, which suggested that Marvel Studios was considering a Cable movie. In 2009, Variety reported, "Gathering of scribes will help Marvel come up with creative ways to launch its lesser-known properties, such as Black Panther, Cable, Doctor Strange, Iron Fist, Nighthawk and Vision." Either Variety mistakenly included Cable in their list or Marvel Studios must think they have some type of claim to Cable. Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are claimed by both Marvel Studios and 20th Century Fox, since the characters are both mutants and members of The Avengers. However, it would be hard to make a similar case for Cable, since he has always been very closely tied to the X-Men franchise. Our guess is that the Variety report is a mistake, but it's always possible that Cable's rights are somehow held separately from the X-Men franchise rights. However, it would be really hard to imagine an X-Force movie being made without Cable. Fans are likely to find out for sure where the rights belong at 20th Century Fox's Comic-Con panel in San Diego.