He may finally be headlining his first feature film, but it turns out the Merc With a Mouth will have some company on the big screen, as recent statements from Rob Liefeld suggest the X-Man Colossus will have a more substantial role in the upcoming Deadpool movie than previously thought.

Played by Ryan Reynolds, Wade Wilson is a former special forces operative who, after being diagnosed with cancer, is transformed into Deadpool, a mercenary with accelerated healing powers, a disfigured complexion, and a dark and twisted sense of humor. Being a Fox production and part of Marvel's X-men universe, it will likely come as no surprise that Wilson's violent world will inevitably collide with the universe that has been so well established in Bryan Singer's films.

That collision will primarily come when Deadpool makes the acquaintance of the massive metal mutant known as Colossus. With the ability to transform his body into organic steel, Piotr Rasputin is one of the most physically powerful mutants among the X-Men, and as was seen in the trailer, he's not averse to tossing Wade Wilson around when the mercenary gets lippy.

During a recent Q&A session at Amazing Hawaii Comic Con, Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld answered fan questions as to how Colossus will be portrayed in the new movie:

“You are going to love Colossus. He’s in it – I hope Fox doesn’t get mad at me – he’s in it a good amount. He doesn’t just walk through the movie.”

While Colossus has appeared previous in other X-Men movies, it seems that the character will have a more substantial part than before. Even though the metallic mutant has made appearances in X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand, and X-Men: Days of Future Past, his role in all of these movies has been small, to say the least. While audiences were most familiar with the character, as played by Daniel Cudmore since X2, the actor will be replaced by Andre Tricoteux, who has appeared in Once Upon a Time and as a stunt double in Seventh Son.

Since Deadpool is already set-up within the X-Men universe, and the movie is giving a larger role to Colossus, it could foreshadow the mercenary teaming up with the X-Men on the big screen at some point in the future. Or, it may even suggest him taking a role in other mutant teams, like X-Force -- assuming the film does well for Fox. Considering that there has already been a lot of positive reaction to both the test footage leaked on YouTube and the first trailer, 20th Century Fox may want to consider including Deadpool in more of their future projects.

If Fox wants to stay competitive with Marvel and DC, the studio should make a point of giving fan favorites like Deadpool and Colossus meatier roles in films, as exploring such interesting dynamics could be the ticket to new and successful franchises. And frankly, the studio could use a few more solid superhero options after the box-office bomb that was Fantastic Four.

Source: ComicBook.com