“If he doesn’t stick the landing…”: Deadpool Creator Believes Robert Downey Jr. Doesn’t Deserve All the Credits for MCU’s Success
Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man will never not be iconic to MCU fans. According to data obtained from the Box Office Mojo, Marvel’s Avengers universe, spanning 10 years with 19 projects, has managed to gather $15 billion worldwide to date. Marvel has been one of the pioneers in comic book movies and its success will be exemplary for many generations to come. However, Marvel would not have been able to build the most crucial part of its cinematic universe had it not been for the first Iron Man movie, which literally saved them from bankruptcy.
Even though Robert Downey Jr. and his fantastic acting chops will always be special to the audience, Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld is not ready to give Downey Jr. all the credit for MCU’s success. In fact, Liefeld thinks it was Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine that paved the way for Downey Jr.’s Iron Man success.
“You don’t get Robert Downey Jr. without Hugh Jackman”: Deadpool Creator Credits Hugh Jackman For Robert Downey Jr.’s MCU Success
While it is true that with Iron Man MCU got the notoriety of where it is now, it was the success of X-Men movies that paved the way for comic book flicks to be treated as proper works of art and not just some niche genre of films. Nowadays, the action landscape is thriving, with franchise action movies like Creed III and John Wick 4 being the biggest dominators at the box office. However, cut back to when the MCU was just starting out, action movies were not that buzzworthy among the audience. Even more cursed were the comic book adaptations, which were seen as low-effort and given a silly tier in the industry.
In the 2000s, filmmaker Bryan Singer completely changed the landscape of comic-book adaptations with X-Men. Instead of opening the movie in a colorful manner, he chose to set up the film in 1944 German-occupied Poland. Many audiences who approached comic book movies in a silly-goose-like manner were stunned to see the parents of Erik Lehnsherr being torn apart from him to be taken to the concentration camp. Its impact on the comic book world is profound and cannot be understated.
Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld gives this recognition to Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and X-Men in his recent interview with ComicBook.com. He opens up about how he thinks that without Hugh Jackman and Bryan Singer’s joint effort, Robert Downey Jr. would not have a launching pad in the MCU and people often forget that.
“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). 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.”
He continued-
“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.”
The MCU is developing a third Deadpool movie with Ryan Reynolds and it was announced that Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine would be a significant part of the movie. It would mark his first appearance after he retired with Logan.
Robert Downey Jr. Passed Oscar Nod For His MCU Role
Robert Downey Jr. recently spoke up (Rob Lowe’s Literally! podcast) about how he felt like his best acting in the role of Iron Man in the MCU went unnoticed because of the genre. However, that is not the first time he has aired out his grievances. Back in 2019, when the debate around whether the MCU produces “real cinema” was a hot topic, Robert Downey Jr. appeared on The Howard Stern Show to throw shade at the Oscars for their discrimination toward superhero movies.
Howard Stern brought up the Oscar buzz and why RDJ should not get an Oscar nod if Joaquin Phoenix was getting one for Joker.
“Because it’s a superhero movie they turn [up] their nose at it. The performance is excellent. It’s a totally believable character.”
Robert Downey Jr. brutally replied, saying,
“I’m so glad you brought this up because there was some talk about [an Oscar campaign for his work]. And I said, ‘Let’s not.’”
Even though he passed on the campaign, it does seem like he is not over the disservice he got from the major award circuit.
All Iron Man movies are available to watch on Disney+.
