Rob Liefeld Credits Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine as Paving Way for RDJ’s Iron Man

Marvel Studios has been developing the upcoming third Deadpool movie with Ryan Reynolds for quite some time, and it will be the first film in the franchise to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Reynolds announced last year that Hugh Jackman would return as Wolverine in the movie, marking his first appearance since he retired with the James Mangold-directed Logan. Deadpool 3 will be the first X-Men movie in the MCU and is rumored to feature a bunch of X-Men actors from previous movies, like Halle Berry. Deadpool and Wolverine joining the MCU is pretty significant, as Jackman appeared as Wolverine years before the MCU was created. Rob Liefeld, who created Deadpool for Marvel Comics, recently had the chance to speak with ComicBook.con’s Brandon Davis at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, where he revealed that Jackman should be credited for paving the way for Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man and the MCU.

“You don’t get Robert Downey Jr. without Hugh Jackman. If Wolverine doesn’t stick the landing, if he doesn’t work in X-Men (2000),” Liefeld told us at convention. “And I remember FOX gave me a preview screening of X-Men (2000) about a month before it was released. They had like 50, 60 people see it. I drove up to L.A. and I could not believe because I’d heard horror stories. It’s cheap. I thought, wow, this movie is gonna work. They did just enough to satisfy the 2000 level of curiosity. The characters work, the chemistry was there, Xavier, Magneto, but Hugh Jackman because he’s our audience surrogate in that movie, right? He drops in, they discover him, he discovers the X-Men, they tour the school. I’m like, this is a perfect introduction to this world. But if Hugh Jackman, because Wolverine is the most popular character in the world at that time. If he doesn’t stick the landing and I said, Hugh,  it’s you. We are not in this comic book world unless Marvel and FOX get Wolverine right. And he loved it. He deserves to hear it. We should say it to him all the time.”

Batman Producer Previously Credited Tim Burton for Iron Man and MCU Success

Previously, Batman (1989) producer Michael Uslan revealed that he believes that Tim Burton’s focus on Bruce Wayne instead of just Batman should be credited for Iron Man and the MCU’s success, echoing Liefeld’s comments from above.

“This is the game changer. This is the big idea that not only made Batman a success, but open the door to the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” Uslan previously said. “He said to me, ‘Michael, if we’re going to do the first ever dark and serious comic book superhero movie this movie cannot be about Batman.’ Okay. That was my the most apoplectic moment of my entire existence. And then he explained. He said, ‘This movie must be about Bruce Wayne. We have to show a Bruce Wayne, who’s so driven, so obsessed to the point of being psychotic that audiences around the world who have never read a comic book will go, ‘Oh yeah, I believe that that’s a guy who would get dressed up like a bat, and go out, and fight a guy who looks like the Joker.’ And his corollary to it was that Gotham City had to be the third most important character. Literally from the opening frames, we had to get audiences to believe in Gotham City in order to get them then to believe in a Batman and a Joker.”

“And he was absolutely right. Look at the Marvel movies. Stan [Lee] admitted this to me and I’m sure Kevin Feige would agree: the ‘Iron Man’ movies, I love them, they should be called Tony Stark. The ‘Spider-Man’ movie should really be called Peter Parker. So it’s an idea that has worked and brought comic books into a contemporary global world.” The Batman (1989) producer added.

Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for more updates on Deadpool 3 and the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we learn it! 

Deadpool 3 is currently expected to hit theaters on May 3, 2024! 

What do you think about Rob Liefeld’s comments? Do you agree that Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine paved the way for Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man? Let us know in the comments below or by hitting up our writer @NateBrail on Twitter!