‘Deadpool’ Creator Rob Liefeld Has Attempted To Clarify His Controversial ‘Birds Of Prey’ Comments
Birds Of Prey‘s box office receipts continued their unimpressive streak during the movie’s third weekend, after dropping the movie’s original title in an attempt to put more butts in seats. The movie, while entertaining and never boring, simply wasn’t what DC fans (as a whole) wanted to pay to see. Among the loudest of voices in the ruckus would be Rob Liefeld, creator of Deadpool, the character whose R-rated box-office success Birds Of Prey obviously hoped to replicate.
That success didn’t happen, and Liefeld got vocal on Twitter about it. He seemingly blamed the film’s financial downfalls on Harley’s new wardrobe (and lack of a sexy costume). He praised how the skimpier outfit that she wore in Suicide Squad was “Deborah Harry inspired” and “amazing,” and he declared that the new look needed “more punk rock, less happy meal.” He even tweeted images of Ronald McDonald, but in an interview with LRM Online, Liefeld is sort-of backtracking. Now, he’s saying that Birds Of Prey‘s overall look reminds him of a certain George Clooney Batman movie:
“I regret what I did not say and I should have been more blunt. [Birds of Prey] looks like a bad Joel Schumacher continuation of the aesthetic from Batman and Robin (1998). That’s what it looks like to my eyes. I don’t think the Joel Schumacher aesthetic is one that I would pursue in a movie right now.”
If Liefeld would have said this initially, his remarks (even in light of his anatomically impossible drawings of women) may not have drawn as much backlash. After all, few folks (not even Joel Schumacher himself) maintain affection for the infamous Bat Nipple costume or the overall look of Batman and Robin. Yet Liefield didn’t reference sexy costumes or a punk-rock vibe while amending his comments, either, so he’s not really clarifying but sort-of switching perspectives and context with his new remarks. And he doesn’t touch upon why he thinks it’s a good idea for Suicide Squad‘s Harley to keep fighting bad guys with Deborah Harry-like hotpants riding up her booty. Regardless of costume-related remarks, however, one can guess that Warner Bros. hopes that James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad (featuring Margot Robbie’s Harley, with no skimpy outfit) can still rally for supervillains everywhere on August 6, 2021.
(Via LRM Online)