There is no denying that Bryan Singer’s X-Men movie from 2000 was the torchbearer for superhero movies under Marvel banner. The film about Professor X and his school of mutants featuring Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine was the stepping stone to success that even paved the way for Marvel’s most beloved superhero Iron Man.
According to Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld, he believes that one X-Men (2000) character deserves more respect than he gets for making the MCU into a reality. Well, it is none other than Hugh Jackman who was appreciated by Liefeld for paving the way for Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man and the MCU.
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Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine Paved the Way For Iron Man
Although Marvel Studios is currently known for its different phases, popular movies, and TV shows, there was a time when they had doubts about the success of superhero action flicks. This was apparently from when Marvel released X-Men in 2000 like almost an experiment to determine the audience’s preference. And as the film earned success, the studio gained confidence and started working on MCU.
Therefore, without a doubt, Hugh Jackman‘s X-Men franchise has been the stepping stone for the MCU and all of its appreciated projects. Addressing that very fact, Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld recently opened up about how the X-Men and one particular character from the franchise paved the way for today’s beloved action hero Iron Man.
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Marvel Studios currently developing Deadpool 3 with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, is going to be the first film in the X-Men franchise to enter the MCU. With this already being significant news for fans, Rob Liefeld added some more spark as he credited Jackman for being the ultimate torchbearer, during his 2023 interview.
Deadpool Creator Believes Hugh Jackman Turned MCU Into Reality
Speaking with ComicBook’s Brandon Davis, Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld noted that Hugh Jackman was the ultimate actor who paved the way for Robert Downey Jr‘s Iron Man and the entire MCU. Revealing that Jackman should be credited more for his unconditional deeds, Liefeld explained his reasons.
“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). 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.”
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“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.”
Explaining how Marvel Studios developed the first X-Men movie in 2000 to earn an audience base, Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld mentioned that it was all in the hands of Hugh Jackman. Being a titular character in the movie and a pivotal character in the X-Men franchise, it was entirely on Jackman to earn the audience over to the superhero flick.
“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.”
Giving the entire credit to Hugh Jackman for single-handedly catering to fans’ demands and paving the way for MCU, simultaneously, Rob Liefeld praised the actor during the interview.
