About a year ago, a little R-rated comic book movie by the name of Deadpool surprised audiences and critics everywhere with one of the year's biggest box office performances. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone more pleased with the film's success--and that of its title character--than co-creator Rob Liefeld. The self-taught artist, writer, and creator of numerous other popular comic book characters has another reason to be happy today: The Deadpool effect has led to a solid shared cinematic universe deal that will encompass 9 comic book titles and more than 100 characters.

Graham King and Fundamental Films are partnering to secure the film rights to Liefeld’s Extreme Universe, which includes characters like Bloodstrike, Brigade, Lethal, Re‐Gex, Cybrid, Bloodwulf, Battlestone, Kaboom, and Nitro‐Gen. King will partner with Akiva Goldsman to develop the property with an eye to launch a film franchise. The pair plans to set up a writer’s room for the banner, which Goldsman will oversee, similar to his work leading the writer's room for Hasbro and Paramount. King and Goldsman will produce the titles alongside Liefeld and Brooklyn Weaver with Weed Road’s President of Production Greg Lessans and GK Films’ Denis O’Sullivan acting as executive producers.

Here's what Liefeld had to say about the deal:

“Over the past nearly 25 years, since launching Image Comics, I’ve been lucky enough to see the power of these stories and characters as they’ve resonated with several generations of comic book fans. To now be able to work with Akiva Goldsman and Graham King, who are powerhouses in their own right, to bring these compelling characters and conflicts to life on the big screen is nothing short of a dream come true!”

King followed up with his own sentiment:

“Rob has an uncanny ability to create unique stories with unforgettable characters and EXTREME UNIVERSE is no exception. These stories are fantastic and I couldn’t imagine better partners on this project than Mark and his team at Fundamental Films.”

And Mark Gao, Chairman of Fundamental Films, also weighed in:

“Rob Liefeld's unique characters are in great hands with Graham and Akiva. We could not be more excited to see them bring the entire Extreme Universe to theaters and fans around the globe."

Are you excited to see some of Liefeld's other comic book creations come to the big screen? Sound off in the comments to let us know!