Nearly a year ago Tim Miller, director of the surprise hit ‘Deadpool’, abruptly departed the sequel. This came as a shock, not only because of the suddenness of Miller’s departure, but also thanks to Fox’s stated intent of keeping the first film’s creative team (which also included co-writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick) together. At the time, the split was attributed to creative differences between Miller and Ryan Reynolds, with the studio ultimately choosing to back an established star over a first time director.
And for a while, that seemed to more or less be it. In a matter of weeks, ‘John Wick’ co-director David Leitch was tapped for ‘Deadpool 2’, and Miller himself has since moved on to ‘Terminator 6′. Miller, along with ‘Terminator’ producer James Cameron, recently conducted a lengthy interview with the Hollywood Reporter. Perhaps inevitably, the question of Miller’s departure from ‘Deadpool 2’ was raised, with the interviewer asking whether or not we could “thank Ryan Reynolds” for Miller’s involvement with the venerable sci-fi franchise. Miller with a seemingly half-joking “Yeah, if you want,” before elaborating:
“I felt like there was more stories to tell there, but I’m happy that somebody else is telling them. There was a sense of relief in that I get to do something new, versus ‘Deadpool 2’. I think it would’ve been a great movie, but it was also going to be a continuation of what we had done. This really gave me a chance to do something new.”
It seems, however, that Cameron had his eye on Miller to direct ‘Terminator 6’ long before the ‘Deadpool’ split. More than that, it’s clear that at least some conversations to that effect had taken place. As Miller explained:
“I feel like there was so much more to be done with these [‘Terminator’] characters. I mean, I wanted to make ‘Deadpool 2’. I was going to do that, until I wasn’t. So, there was that, which took up about seven months of my time. But even then, David [Ellison, Skydance Media head and ‘Terminator’ rights holder] and I were talking. Like after ‘Deadpool 2’, it was going to be this.”
Reynolds, for his part, has expressed regret that Miller is no longer involved, saying that “Tim’s brilliant and nobody worked harder on ‘Deadpool’ than he did.”
Directed by David Leitch, ‘Deadpool 2’ will see Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Leslie Uggams, Stafan Kapicic, and Brianna Hildebrand reprise their roles from the original alongside newcomers Josh Brolin, Zazie Beetz and Jack Kesy. The film is due to arrive in theaters on June 1, 2018.
