'Deadpool' Creator Rob Liefeld Details Uncomfortable Twitter Exchange Involving Russell Crowe

We’ve said it a million times, Rob Liefeld is the biggest “Deadpool” fan in the world. Sure, he created the character back in the ‘90s, but with the Merc with a Mouth’s sudden rise to fame with two hugely successful films, Liefeld can be found at Comic-Cons, press junkets, and just about anywhere he can go to spread the good word about Deadpool. Hell, we’re pretty sure he’s available for house calls too!

But sometimes that enthusiasm that Liefeld has for his creation can put him in tough spots. This was the case in February 2017, when an overzealous Liefeld decided to post on Twitter that he felt that actor Russell Crowe would be perfect for the role of Cable in “Deadpool 2.” There was no malice involved. He just said, “@russellcrowe you should read for #Cable in Deadpool and X-Force. Just sayin…”

Of course, as has been chronicled quite heavily in the past, Russell Crowe is prone to being a bit…harsh. So when Crowe replied, “I should read for it?” it was clear that the actor was offended. He was insinuating, of course, that he was way too big to just “read” for a part.

Well, at a comic-con recently, Liefeld discussed the story a little bit more (via Collider), and explained just how badly it went for the comic creator:

One night before I went to bed, I didn’t know Russell Crowe was on Twitter, and I stupidly tweeted to Russell Crowe — not ever thinking he’d answer me — and I go ‘Hey Russell, you should read for Cable!’ That didn’t turn out very well, I got yelled at a lot, because I woke up, because he’s in Australia, to Russell Crowe saying ‘Read for it?’ And my manager said ‘Yeah, Russell Crowe doesn’t read for parts. Rob, you kind of insulted him. I’m like ‘I’m sorry. They just haven’t picked Cable yet so I’m just putting it out there.’ And then my phone rings, so some Fox people may or may not have yelled at me for an hour.

Well, as we now know, Crowe didn’t get approached for the role, at least to our knowledge, and Josh Brolin ended up with the part, doing a mighty fine job. We’re guessing that from now on, Liefeld will attempt to keep his enthusiasm in check, just a little bit. But hey, Russell Crowe would have been a pretty great choice also!