After Tim Miller, director of the first Deadpool, dropped out last week, allegedly because of creative differences with Ryan Reynolds, 20th Century Fox has been on the hunt for his replacement. Many news sources were quick to report that David Leitch had been selected to direct, but in reality, no offers have been made and nothing confirmed (as of yet). According to Deadline, there are two other candidates in addition to Leitch.
As of now, here are the three contenders for Deadpool 2‘s director.
1. David Leitch
After working as stuntman for more than 20 years, Leitch has slowly made his transition to director, working as a second-unit director for films such as Jurassic World, Captain America: Civil War, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But after co-directing the John Wick series with Chad Stahelski, and directing the upcoming thriller The Coldest City with Charlize Theron, John Goodman, and James McAvoy, he is surely ready for the challenge. Given he was in consideration to direct X-Force, it makes sense why he was on Fox’s radar already. Allegedly Leitch is also Ryan Reynold’s top choice, which if true, may help him secure the position.
2. Drew Goddard
Since being nominated for an Oscar for directing The Martian last year, Goddard has established himself not only as a writer, but as a talented and ambitious director. Goddard has been wanting to do a superhero flick, originally developing Sinister Six, a supervillain-centric Spider-Man spinoff, until that was canceled due to Sony and Marvel deciding to team up to and make Spiderman:Homecoming, directed by Jon Watts and to be released next year.
3. Magnus Martens
The Norwegian director may seem like a random choice, but in fact his resume suggests he could be an ideal choice. His 2011 film Jackpot, which has a similar feel to Deadpool, is currently being remade with Will Gluck directing and Mila Kunis starring. Martens has also directed episodes of such television shows as Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D, Luke Cage, Power, and 12 Monkeys.
Variety also reported that the lead female role of ‘Domino’ has yet to be cast with 10 actresses currently testing for the role, including Sienna Miller, Lizzy Caplan , Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kelly Rohrbach, Ruby Rose, Mackenzie Davis, Eve Hewson, Sofia Boutella, Stephanie Sigman, and Sylvia Hoeks (who will also reportedly appear in X-Force).
With Deadpool being Fox’s biggest hit of 2016, making $782.6 million worldwide, there is certainly a pressure to make the right decisions to ensure the franchise continued success. Stay tuned for further developments.
There is no release date set for Deadpool 2.