Deadpool Creator Rob Liefeld’s Prophet Movie Rights Acquired

After the success of the Deadpool franchise, another movie studio is betting on the creative works of comic book creator Rob Liefeld, as Studio 8 has acquired the movie rights to Liefeld’s Prophet comic book series.

Check out the official press release below, along with a breakdown of the Prophet character:

“Studio 8 has secured the rights to Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld‘s Image Comics character, Prophet.

Liefeld, Adrian Askarieh (HITMAN, HITMAN: AGENT 47) and Brooklyn Weaver (RUN ALL NIGHT, OUT OF THE FURNACE) will produce.

Known for his irreverent and edgy style, Liefeld is one of the most iconic comic artists of all time, having created over 150 characters. His most notable characters Marvel’s Deadpool, Cable, Domino and X-Force are currently on the big screen played by Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin and Zazie Beetz in DEADPOOL 2. The DEADPOOL film franchise has made over 1.5 billion dollars in just 2 movies. Marvel’s X-FORCE, is also being developed into a film at FOX, written and to be directed by Drew Goddard. Liefeld signed a rights deal with Netflix in March 2018.

John Hyde and Terissa Kelton will also be involved in the project.

John Graham & Guy Danella are overseeing for Studio 8.“

If you’re unfamiliar with the character of Prophet, he hails from the early-90s ear of Image Comics, which Liefeld formed alongside former DC and Marvel writers and aritsts like Jim Lee and Todd McFarlane (Spawn). Read below for more of the character’s history, as provided by the press release:

“Studio 8 plans to build a franchise around title character, John Prophet, a DNA enhanced super-soldier placed into a cryogenic freeze for a future mission only to awaken in the wrong time (current time) searching for a mission that does not exist. Pitched as very much the anti-Captain America across the board. He’s a ruthless berserker that must find his humanity.

Prophet exploded out of the pages of another Liefeld best seller, Youngblood, catching fire with fans, John Prophet was awarded his own popular showcase, launching a series of his own in 1993! Prophet achieved critical acclaim as well as crossing over for an historic team up with Liefeld’s popular Marvel creation, Cable in a definitive storyline.”

Given the current popularity of Chris Evans’ Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it seems clear why Studio 8 might want to capitalize on an “Anti-Captain America” franchise of its own. It doesn’t take much imagination to guess that a mash-up of the Captain America and Deadpool franchises is easily what Studio 8 is going for with this. It’ll be interesting to see how it develops – and which of the vastly different eras of the character (’90s or 2010s) that the filmmakers go with.

We’ll keep you updated.