Creator Rob Liefeld recalls the moment on set he was handed Cable's weapon.


A funny thing happens when you see your creations come to life: You realize just how hard it might be to live as them.


At least, that was the experience for Cable creator Rob Liefeld on the set of Deadpool 2 last year when he asked actor Josh Brolin — who packed on the muscle for the role — to hold the character's prop rifle.


"Josh gave me the rifle to hold and said, 'Be prepared: This is heavy,' " recalls Liefeld, who was shocked by just how much it weighed in his hands. "It's a 70-pound rifle! And he's like, 'I got to run up hills with this thing.'"


That rifle is part of the fun of the latest Deadpool 2 teaser, which shows Cable jumping over a truck while holding the futuristic weapon. For Liefeld, seeing the footage of Cable has been a long time coming, one that caused a little bit of stress along the way.


"Casting Cable was the most important thing this movie had to do," says Liefeld, who followed all the casting rumors religiously. "I I lived and died by whatever name leaked that day. I had ulcer upon ulcer upon ulcer."


He recalls being told by longtime X-Men producer Simon Kinberg that Cable was an incredibly sought-after role, and Liefeld experienced that first hand when he started getting approached by talent managers hoping he could put in a word for their actors. (Liefeld reminded the managers that he does not cast movies.) Liefeld won't name names, but notes that at the time, some of the actors whose reps approached him sounded good for Cable, while others … not so much.


"When Josh was announced, my wife will tell you, I jumped 12 feet in the air, maybe higher," notes Liefeld, who says he has been a longtime Brolin fan and considers 2007's No Country for Old Men to be among his favorite movies.


As for Deadpool 2, Liefeld has an apt analogy for how it fits into the film pantheon.


"Deadpool was Alien. It's brilliant. It completely works. It's a masterpiece," he says, referring to the 1979 Ridley Scott classic. "Deadpool 2 is Aliens. It's when James Cameron came in and said, 'OK you want me to do this? We're going to make it bigger, put in loads more action.' "


Deadpool 2 opens May 18.