Donald Glover’s talents defy a singular description. He’s a rapper. He’s a singer. He’s a stand-up comic. He’s an actor. A writer. Director. And, according to reports, he and his brother, Stephen, will pen a 10-episode cartoon adaptation of Deadpool, launching next year on FXX.
It’s a pretty thrilling pivot for Glover, who spent 2016 winning twin streams of critical acclaim for (1) his scripted FX series Atlanta, and (2) his funk album Awaken, My Love!, and whose creative range is so wide as to include every medium, artform, genre, and discipline. Glover is 33, by the way. He’s appeared in comics as his musical alter ego, Childish Gambino. His 2010 hashtag campaign to play Spider-Man in a live-action feature film influenced Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli’s creation of Miles Morales for the Spider-Man comic Ultimate Fallout, whom Glover voices in the third season of the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series on Disney XD. But it’s so far unclear whether he’ll lend his speaking voice to the Deadpool cast. As a clever comic with a motor mouth, though, he’s a natural fit for the character.
Not that Donald Glover necessarily has the bandwidth to create and star in this project. Ideally, he and Stephen would at least import Keith Stanfield from Atlanta to play Weasel. And maybe set the whole show in Atlanta, while we’re at it. Take or leave these suggestions.
The Deadpool series is a relatively short order — again, just 10 episodes for now — but it comes as Glover is set to play Lando Calrissian in the forthcoming Han Solo origin-story movie, and as he’s also rumored to reprise his role as Miles Morales in Sony’s planned Spider-Man animated feature. Don’t be surprised if Donald Glover writes, directs, and performs the soundtracks for both of these movies, too; he’s fully capable.
