Director Tim Miller has spoken out against the rumors of drama surrounding his departure from Deadpool 2. After Deadpool’s 2016 success, many were surprised that Miller wouldn’t be ushering in the sequel, and rumors swirled about “creative differences,” the euphemism often used to describe serious Hollywood in-fighting.
Many speculated that there was tension between the director and Deadpool’s star Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds addressed the rumors in November in an interview with GQ.
"All I can really add is that I'm sad to see him off the film," Reynolds told the magazine. "Tim's brilliant and nobody worked harder on Deadpool than he did."
Around the same time it was announced that David Leitch, a director on the movie John Wick, would be taking Miller’s place on Deadpool 2. In a new interview, Miller, who had previously promised he would take time to make the Deadpool sequel "great," has shared his own reasons for leaving the film.
Addressing the alleged creative differences, he said, “I didn’t want to make some stylized movie that was three times the budget, and if you read the internet—and who cares, really—but for those of you who do, I wanted to make the same kind of movie that we made before, because I think that’s the right kind of movie to make for the character. So, don’t believe what you read on the Internet.”
Still, as io9 points out, Deadpool’s producer and star have said they hope to create a sequel that is similar to the original, so Miller’s reaction is confusing at best and shady at worst.
The director also addressed another rumor, which is that he left because of a casting dispute over the character Cable, Deadpool’s mentor and friend, who some say Miller wanted to be played by Kyle Chandler.
“Kyle Chandler was not going to be Cable. All these things that you read kinda kills me, even when people go, ‘The movie was really hard to make.’ The movie was a joy to make. I think you see it on screen, we all had such a good time. We had a few arguments in post, but nothing more than usual. The crew was so great, everybody was going to come back, and we were going to have such a good time. The idea that it was a difficult movie, it wasn’t—it was a joy, and it was the best experience of my life.”
Miller’s response are genial, but opaque enough that they hardly lay the rumors to rest. As with most Hollywood squabbles, we’ll likely never know the truth behind the supposed drama. Nevertheless, with Deadpool 2, there are more important things to focus on. For example, given the popularity of the original, will this sequel actually be any good?
