Deadpool 2 officially has a director. Deadline is reporting that John Wick co-director David Leitch, the rumored man the studio was looking to hire, has indeed signed to helm the film.
Deadline is also reporting that Leitch beat out the likes of Drew Goddard and Magnus Martens, who were also on Fox’s shortlist to take over the film.
The director’s chair on Deadpool 2 opened up last month after Tim Miller, the man responsible for the first film, walked away after reportedly developed creative differences with its star Ryan Reynolds. Miller had not signed a contract to direct the sequel, but he had been working on its screenplay with original Deadpool screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. It was clear that the studio wanted him back calling the shots behind he camera as well. The Reynolds-Miller combination helped the film gross over $782 illion worldwide, off of a reported budget of just $58 million.
Leitch had twenty years of experience as a stuntman and stunt coordinator before he co-directed 2014’s John Wick with Chad Stahelski. Stahelski directed the sequel to the Keanu Reeves-starring thriller which will hit theaters in February. Leitch freshman solo directorial effort, the spy thriller The Coldest City starring Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman and Sofia Boutella, is set for a July 28, 2017 release.
