Deadpool was one of the biggest hits of 2016, winning over fans who were skeptical the violent anti-hero could be done justice, and also those who had no idea what a Deadpool was. It was so big, earning more than $780M, that it basically took over the X-Men franchise from the X-Men, especially in light of the disappointing X-Men: Apocalypse. Ryan Reynolds' career suddenly seemed bright again, and 20th Century Fox moved ahead on a sequel. There was just one problem: a key piece of the puzzle, director Tim Miller, left a couple of months ago due to some kind of dispute.
The reports seemed a bit off to me. They suggested Miller left for one of two reasons that made no sense. One said he fought with star Ryan Reynolds over the casting of Cable, with Miller really wanting Manchester by the Sea star Kyle Chandler. The other said Miller was trying to get the modest budget of the first movie increased substantially for the sequel, with Reynolds and writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick wanting to stay the same size. Well now Miller has finally opened up about his departure, and his basic point is not believe everything you read on the Internet? Oh well now he tells us!
“I just want to say one thing to the geek audience out there, because it’s important to me what the geeks and nerds of the world think because they are my brothers and sisters. I didn’t want to make some stylized movie that was 3 times the budget. If you read the internet — 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 movie to make for the character. So don’t believe what you read on the internet.”
Miller says even though thing about Chandler was bogus...
“I wanted to do the same thing [as the first movie]. Kyle Chandler was not going to be Cable. All this stuff that I read kind of kills me.”
Fortunately, there's doesn't seem to be any bad blood with Fox. Miller signed on to direct the studio's adaptation of the best-selling thriller, Influx. He even has nothing but good things to say about Deadpool 2 and his replacement at director, John Wick's David Leitch...
“I wish them nothing but good — I hope it’s great. I hope it’s a great movie. Because I love the character and I think it’s great, and I love all the actors and I want to see them successful again. I haven’t met David, but he’s a great guy from everything I’ve heard. I want nothing but the best for the character. And for Fox, too. They deserve to make more money. They need to make more money [laughs]. They were great. They were terrific.”
All of this begs the question, "So why the f**k did you leave then"? Miller doesn't actually tell Collider anything on that front, so who knows? There's always more to the story than what gets out, but I have a feeling we won't be learning anything more.
