In November of last year, Ryan Reynolds admitted that the making of Deadpool was not without its fair share of behind-the-scenes conflict. Thanks to the extreme passions of himself, director Tim Miller, and writers/producers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, things occasionally got heated in the group, with the ultimate understanding being that each person's largest contribution should come from their greatest strength. With filmmaker David Leitch replacing Miller behind the camera for the upcoming Deadpool 2, the question is raised how that balance will work for the sequel... and Leitch himself actually addressed that very idea earlier today:
It's kind of been an all-encompassing collaboration, and actually when I came on it was really an open forum to pitch all ideas. There may be camps. Obviously action is in my DNA, and they do look to me for that, and I might look for them, 'Is my idea funny?' It's a great team. We're really collaborating, and I'm loving the process. They're open to hear my fart jokes as much as anybody's!
I had the pleasure of meeting David Leitch earlier today during a Focus Features press line at CinemaCon -- the annual convention for theater owners held in Las Vegas -- and after talking about his new movie Atomic Blonde (stay tuned for more on that front), we dug a bit into his work on Deadpool 2. I directly asked him about his collaboration with Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, and Paul Wernick and how they will be approaching the action and the comedy, and he explained that there will be open discussions about all aspects of the blockbuster, but also that the concept of playing to strengths clearly makes sense.
As the foundation of his own visual effects studio clearly proves, Tim Miller's greatest strength coming to Deadpool was in the digital realm. And as he himself noted above, David Leitch's greatest asset is his eye for action. In addition to having an extensive background in stunt work, Leitch also co-created the action design production company 87Eleven 20 years ago, and also co-directed one of the greatest action movies of the modern era: 2014's John Wick. It's the fact that this prowess will be meshing with the comedic skills of the Deadpool writers and star that makes Deadpool 2 such an incredibly exciting upcoming project.
Watch part of our interview with David Leitch right here:
Right now we don't know exactly when it will be that Deadpool 2 arrives in theaters, but production is scheduled to gear up in the next few months. Before the action/comedy gets made, however, fans will be able to get a preview of David Leitch's skills as a director when the hotly-buzzed about Atomic Blonde starring Charlize Theron arrives in theaters on July 28th.
