Donald Glover’s Animated Deadpool TV Show Is the Craziest Marvel ‘What If’

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Marvel was fortunate to bring Deadpool back to the big screen. The character has quickly become a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is expected to be important in future Avengers movies. However, Marvel hasn’t always showcased Deadpool’s unique personality and abilities effectively.

While the Deadpool films perfectly captured the character’s spirit, the same can’t be said for TV adaptations. An animated Deadpool series would seem like an obvious choice, but Marvel seems worried about making its already complex timeline even more confusing, particularly as they’re building out original animated shows like What If…? and Marvel Zombies. Although a future animated series isn’t entirely off the table, Marvel had an opportunity to create something truly special seven years ago that they ultimately passed up.

A Deadpool Animated Show Was Pitched

In 2017, FXX announced they were creating an animated series based on Deadpool, which was exciting news for comic book fans. Adult animation was already popular at the time, with shows like Rick & Morty doing well and unique series such as Bojack Horseman finding large audiences. Plus, the first Deadpool movie had been a huge financial hit, earning $782.6 million worldwide.

A Deadpool series is coming at the perfect time, and the team making it is fantastic. Marvel veterans Jeph Loeb, a seasoned comic book writer, and Jim Chory, who previously worked on shows like Jessica Jones, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Legion, are executive producers. Adding to the excitement, Donald Glover, a gifted writer with a unique voice and a passion for Marvel, joined the project.

Donald Glover first became well-known for playing Troy Barnes on the TV show Community. He then went on to create and star in his own show, Atlanta, a unique and often dreamlike comedy that aired on FX. Atlanta was a critical and commercial hit, earning numerous awards and showcasing Glover’s talent as a writer. Glover had previously appeared in the movie Spider-Man: Homecoming, giving him some experience with the Marvel world.

Because FX had worked with Donald Glover before, he was the obvious choice for the Deadpool series. His brother and collaborator, Stephen Glover, joined the project as a writer as well. The show, titled Deadpool: The Animated Series, playfully referenced Batman: The Animated Series, and FX gave the Glover brothers a lot of creative control by establishing it as a standalone story.

As a huge Deadpool fan, I was SO excited for the animated series! It felt like everything was falling into place – Ryan Reynolds himself gave the writers, the Glover brothers, a big thumbs-up. When they announced a full 10-episode season, I seriously couldn’t wait. But honestly, it all went downhill pretty quickly, and it was a real letdown.

The Deadpool Show Fell Apart Before It Ever Came To Screens

When production began on Deadpool, Donald Glover was already a very busy actor, but FX worked with his schedule. They set up a writing team in London, where he was filming Solo: A Star Wars Story, and also hired another writer from the show Atlanta, Stefani Robinson, to help with the project.

Glover and the other writers were enthusiastic about their work on the project. Glover explained that writing for Deadpool was simple because the character was highly self-aware. Other writers, such as Robinson, enjoyed writing the character, particularly because of his immortality. The project was progressing smoothly, so the sudden cancellation came as a surprise to everyone.

Both FX and Donald Glover stated the cancellation of ‘Atlanta’ was due to differing creative visions, not because of Glover’s other projects. Shortly after the announcement, Glover shared a 15-page script online, quickly removing it. The script featured Deadpool jokingly questioning the cancellation, implying the show wasn’t supported despite being a ‘feel-good minority show.’

It appeared that both Marvel and FX didn’t quite grasp Donald Glover’s creative direction for the show, and a leaked script hinted it would have been quite daring. Glover even confirmed they had planned an episode centered around Taylor Swift, calling it “HILARIOUS” in a now-removed social media post and stating it was the final issue that led to its cancellation.

The Deadpool Movie Almost Shared The TV Show’s Date

The recent cancellation of Deadpool: The Animated Series highlights how easily the Deadpool movies could have turned out differently. Before the Deadpool films were actually made, the project was still being developed and could have gone in a completely different direction with another studio involved.

The movie was on the verge of being canceled until a short clip of early computer-generated imagery was leaked online. Fans immediately responded positively, and the footage quickly became a viral sensation. Reynolds has said the movie received official approval just one day after the leak, and its eventual success at the box office proved the studio’s initial doubts were unfounded.

It’s still unclear exactly why the animated Deadpool series was cancelled, but it appears both FX and Marvel were hesitant to try something creatively different. Donald Glover’s final script for the show didn’t generate as much excitement as the push to get the live-action Deadpool movies made, meaning fans may never know what the animated series could have been, unless Glover gets another opportunity to work on a Deadpool project in the future.

Now that Marvel fully owns the Deadpool character and is considering new projects, we might see a return of the character. Both Donald and Stephen Glover are gaining popularity, and with Ryan Reynolds seemingly uninterested in continuing the role, Marvel could choose to revive Deadpool for television.

The animated Deadpool series was canceled in 2018, but since then, several adult animated superhero shows have become popular. Invincible, a graphic and action-packed series based on the Image Comics book, gained a large following after its 2021 release, and James Gunn’s Creature Commandos isn’t shy about taking risks.

It’s possible the show could ‘accidentally’ release scripts, similar to how test footage for Deadpool was leaked. If fans react positively to those scripts, just like they did to Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, Marvel might be willing to take a chance and finally create the animated series that fans have been hoping for.

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2025-11-06 00:07