When the news broke in late October that Deadpool director Tim Miller would not return for the sequel, many fans were surprised, but Ryan Reynolds and 20th Century Fox quickly moved to find a successor. Three weeks ago, they found their new Deadpool 2 director in John Wick co-director David Leitch. Now that the dust has settled on this addition to the Merc with the Mouth's cinematic team, Reynolds has opened up about why Leitch was the right man for the job. The actor said:
Everybody was just a fan of his work. He's just a guy who's so muscular with his action. He also really understands those Deadpool sensibilities and where we need to take the franchise from here. And I love John Wick. One of the things that David Leitch does that very few filmmakers can do these days is they can make a movie on an ultra tight minimal budget look like it was shot for 10-15 times what it cost.
Ryan Reynolds explained what drew him and the Deadpool 2 creative minds to David Leitch during an interview with EW about the sequel. Those qualifications are definitely necessary when handling Wade Wilson on the big screen. Deadpool was filled with almost as much action as it was with comedy, so recruiting a guy who's spent his Hollywood career as a stuntman, second unit director and more is a genius movie. If the action-packed moments in Deadpool 2 look anything like the ones from John Wick, they'll be made in the shade.
David Leitch's talent with working on a tight budget was also a good incentive to bring him aboard. Deadpool was made on a $58 million budget and ended up bringing in over $782 million worldwide. While 20th Century Fox has surely increased Deadpool 2's budget slightly, Ryan Reynolds clearly still wanted someone who could make magic with as little money as possible, if just for stylistic purposes.
Even though Deadpool 2 now has a new director, that doesn't mean the blockbuster isn't still facing challenges. Producer Simon Kinberg also talked about how the sequel needs to be "tonally and stylistically be as fresh and original" from the first movie. Since Deadpool had 10 years to be perfected due to lingering in limbo, making Deadpool 2 just as unique in only a couple years will be extremely difficult. Still, at least bringing David Leitch aboard is one step towards making sure Deadpool 2 has a different feel and doesn't leave moviegoers feeling like they're watching something too familiar.
Deadpool 2 doesn't have an official release date attached yet, although it's expected to arrive sometime in 2018. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more details on the project as they trickle in. As for David Leitch, he'll make his solo directing debut next year with The Coldest City.
