Tim Miller's directorial debut landed him the highest-grossing movie so far of 2016, but it turns out Deadpool would not have been his first time working with an R-rated superhero had plans to make a Lobo movie panned out.

Talking to HitFix, the visual-effects-artist-turned-director revealed that he had met with those involved in the development of Lobo years ago. His statement was part of a bigger question thrown at Miller regarding reports that some superhero films are taking inspiration from Deadpool and going the R-rated route.

"I met on ... Lobo two, three years ago. They had a script then ... and I think they even did a test for it early on," he said. "They just haven't seen that they can actually make money. And ultimately they gotta make money, so I don't blame them for being concerned about it."

For sure 20th Century Fox also had its concerns but it can now rest easy after making such a gamble given that Deadpool has performed so marvelously at the box office. In fact, it is now the biggest earner in the X -Men franchise, overtaking X-Men: The Last Stand in the global box office.

What's even more impressive is that aside from Deadpool's global $754 million earnings being miles away from X-Men: Last Stand's $459 million, the Merc with a Mouth's standalone movie only had a budget of $58 million while The Last Stand operated with $210 million. This means that 20th Century Fox and all involved broke even early on.

This isn't Deadpool's first time on the big screen but most people, if not everyone, is in agreement that the character's appearance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine should just be forgotten. Hey, even that movie's director, Gavin Hood, was glad that Ryan Reynolds and Miller got Deadpool right this time.

Deadpool has already been greenlit for a sequel but there's no word yet on what direction the Merc's second outing will take. Maybe Reynolds can give James Corden a call?

Had a Lobo movie been made, do you think it would've enjoyed the same success as Deadpool? Let us know in the comments!