Deadpool creator didn't want Cable in first film

Deadpool's impact on the worldwide box office - and indeed, the superhero movie landscape - meant that a sequel was a no-brainer, and while we don't know much about the follow-up at this early stage a Cable appearance is guaranteed. The time-travelling mutant has a lot of comic book history with the Merc with a Mouth, so much so that some fans assumed Cable would show up in Deadpool's debut film. According to Deadpool's creator Rob Liefeld, that would have been a mistake.

"I absolutely recommended that they not include Cable in the origin story of Deadpool because it wasn’t necessary", Liefeld told Cinema Blend. "That was on the table of things that were being considered, and I felt like, ‘No, no, no.’ Deadpool is a good enough character. He can carry his own movie and doesn’t need Cable. Similarly, it’s a mistake I believe that Batman v Superman made. They tried to do too many things at once and tell too many stories".

"Where Deadpool came out, [it] gave you this story, and I think they are somewhat following what I’m referencing as the Marvel strategy", Liefeld continued. "Maybe the next movie -- Iron Man 2 gave us Black Widow, and started building. And Cap 2 gave us Black Widow, Falcon, and Winter Soldier, you know? I believe that the fact that we’ve got the opportunity to build now on what Deadpool… OK, this is corny, they can build on the cable they laid with Deadpool, in the first movie, you know? Those are strong tracks, and so now they continue to build out on that".

Liefeld makes some good points here; Deadpool is a unique enough character to carry a film on his own, and now director Tim Miller and co have a solid foundation that future sequels can build on. With a larger budget and likely even more creative freedom, I'm really looking forward to Cable's live action debut. That is, as long as they cast Keira Knightley...

Directed by Tim Miller and starring Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool 2 is yet to be assigned a release date.

Images: 20th Century Fox

Amon Warmann

Amon is a contributing editor and columnist for Empire magazine, but is also a Film and TV writer for GamesRadar+, Total Film, and others. He has also written for NME, Composer Mag, and more, along with being a film critic for TalkSport. He is also the co-host of the Fade to Black Podcast, and a video mashup creator. Can also do a pretty good Bane impersonation.