Former Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas is speaking out against the pervasive notion that there is “superhero film fatigue” amid the MCU reshuffling.
In an opinion piece for The Hollywood Reporter, Thomas wrote that while he is not particularly a fan of the “Deadpool” films, the crossover feature “Deadpool & Wolverine” could revitalize the genre.
“I hope that it does its little part to get the slightly stalled MCU back on track, which should be doable,” Thomas penned. “There’s no such thing as ‘superhero film fatigue‘ — only an impatience with movies that are poorly done and don’t respect the original material.”
Thomas continued that he is “overjoyed” at the box office success of the R-rated film starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, who reprises the Wolverine character after his turn in “Logan.”
“I’ve never been much of a fan of the ‘Deadpool’ franchise (still haven’t seen ‘Deadpool 2,’ almost alone among Marvel-related movies), and I have real trouble taking a story seriously once it starts breaking through the fourth wall,” Thomas wrote. “Even so, I’m overjoyed that nearly half a billion dollars’ worth of paying customers felt positively enough toward the film over the past weekend to go see it.”
Thomas succeeded Stan Lee as Marvel editor-in-chief in 1972. He was the editor at the time of the 1974 creation of Wolverine, who was invented by Len Wein, John Romita Sr. and Herb Trimpe. Thomas has since publicly stated that he also deserves credit for the character and its initial key concepts.
Now for THR, Thomas threw in that he thought his name should be listed first in the credits of “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
“Len Wein, John Romita, and I all deserved official ‘co-creator’ status on ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ just as the two co-creators of ‘Deadpool’ have enjoyed,” Thomas wrote. “Oh, sure, I strongly feel my name should have come first, not last, in the Wolverine grouping, since the Wolverine character was my concept on which Len and the others built … but hey, being listed last never hurt Oliver Hardy, Lou Costello, Jerry Lewis, or Paul McCartney, right? (Or Jack Kirby as in ‘Simon and’ and ‘Lee and,’ come to that.)”
Read the full piece here.
