When it came to making a Deadpool movie, it was always Ryan Reynolds leading the charge. The actor first played the Merc With The Mouth in the critically-panned X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and in the years following fought tooth and nail to make a solo film that would actually do the character justice. It was a true passion project for him, and that intense feeling extended deep into the making of the feature. Unfortunately, it was this same passion that lead to some heated battles behind the scenes of Deadpool -- specifically with director Tim Miller in the editing room when the final cut was being made.
The actor recently did an extensive interview with GQ, discussing the long history and development of Deadpool, and Ryan Reynolds openly discussed the not-so-happy moments during the film's post-production. While Reynolds knew exactly what he wanted the comic book movie to be, this occasionally didn't fall in line with Tim Miller's vision, and this evidently led to some harsh words. Said the Deadpool star,
Making the movie was very, very difficult. It was the most passionate group of individuals I've ever worked with in my life. And for whatever reason, that mercurial crazy burgoo of people is what made this thing work so well, not just because I had this vision and I saw it this way and it had to be this way. It worked because we all had that feeling. But there were vaguely scary fights in the post-production process that escalated quickly. Luckily, everybody's grown up and at the end of the day enjoys and loves each other.
Many will probably be quick to note that it doesn't seem these conflicts between Ryan Reynolds and Tim Miller ended with the making of Deadpool. In recent weeks, the news has spread that Miller will no longer be directing Deadpool 2 due to what has simply been described as creative differences between him and the sequel's star. While candidates for Miller's replacement have been floated, 20th Century Fox has not yet announced anyone specifically for the gig.
So how did Ryan Reynolds and Tim Miller ultimately realize the best way to settle their differences while making Deadpool? Essentially it came down to each of them essentially staying in their own lane, with Miller handling the visual elements, and the character and humor being more in Reynolds' realm (presumably along with writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick). Said Reynolds,
I know when I need to exert control, and I know when I need to let go of it. I'm not gonna go and sit with Tim Miller and say, 'The visual effects of Deadpool need to be done this way.' The man is a visual-effects wizard. But there are character and tone things that I know really well. And I've also been with this thing the longest out of anybody, aside from the guys that wrote the comics. Eleven years I've been trying to get this Sisyphus rock up the hill, and it kept rolling back on top of me. So I'm gonna be all the fuck over it from the moment it starts to the moment it finishes.
Obviously things worked out with Deadpool, because it's both one of the best comic book movies of the year, and also one of the most successful. Clearly the passionate clashes behind the scenes had a positive outcome, and we can only hope for the same on Deadpool 2.
