At the end of October, we reported to you in this article that Tim Miller had left the helm of the Deadpool 2 project. He had a couple of reasons for leaving, namely his creative differences (famous Hollywood speak) with Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds. The first movie was a massive success for the studio, however, and so a director needed to be found, and quickly.
Fox Studios already had a list of potentials, a short list of folks, they would reach out to to helm their sequel (something on their upcoming slate they really need to do well for the X-Franchise reboot) such as Magnus Martens (television director who saw directorial duties on Jackpot, 12 Monkeys, Luke Cage and an episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.). Another potential director was Rupert Sanders. Sanders is the director of the upcoming (2017) Ghost In The Shell film. He also directed Snow White and the Huntsman. Another potential director on the Fox Studios short list was Drew Goddard. Goddard is known for his work as Executive Producer on Daredevil (Netflix), The Defenders (Netflix), Lost, 10 Cloverfield Lane and Alias. Goddard wrote the screenplay for The Sinister Six. He also directed 2012’s horror remake Cabin In The Woods.
Ultimately, the studio (and presumably Ryan Reynolds himself) chose a director with ties to Deadpool as well as someone who has made a career out of highly stylized, intense action sequences.
David Leitch
will be at the directorial helm of Deadpool 2. Leitch was the action coordinator for 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine which included a largely panned version of the regenerating degenerate. His other action movies include Hitman: Agent 47, Ninja Assassin, Tron: Legacy, Mr & Mrs Smith, Serenity, The Bourne Legacy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Troy, The Mechanic, 300, V For Vendetta, 2003’s Daredevil, 1998’s Blade and S.W.A.T. He directed John Wick and 2017’s The Coldest City which stars Charlize Theron, James McAvoy and John Goodman.
Apparently, the studio is looking for another director to helm the already-being-discussed 3rd outing, Deadpool 3. Perhaps it will be Martens, Goddard or Sanders who takes that job. However, if Deadpool 2 does well, Fox Studios could potentially keep Leitch on board for another movie. It makes sense however to contract for one film at a time for this relatively new director.
That said, you can see from Leitch’s resume that he is rather well versed in what will make Deadpool 2 great: Action and an understanding of Superheroes (that you kinda have to throw out to understand Wade Wilson)
