After attaining massive success both critically and commercially with 2016’s “Deadpool,” it was always assumed that director Tim Miller would return bigger and better than ever for the sequel. Unfortunately due to creative differences Miller, left the project paving the way for 2018’s David Leitch directed “Deadpool 2.” While Leitch’s final version received a favorable response, one had to wonder what the outcome might have been had Miller stayed on for the sequel? The answer might just surprise you.
While on the press tour for his latest feature “Terminator: Dark Fate,” Tim recently sat down with us for The Fourth Wall podcast (interview soon) during which he discussed the latest ‘Terminator’ sequel, working with James Cameron, emerging filmmaking technologies, and much more. However, our conversation continued after the pod during which the director revealed to us some details regarding his original plan for “Deadpool 2.”
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Going through what seemed like the dream checklist for any comic book fan, Miller stated that Deadpool’s relationship with Rusty was in there from the beginning and always the heart of the film, he wanted “a [comic accurate] Cable who was 6 feet, 7 inches” tall, and that he’d “cracked the secret to the Vanessa storyline.” Apparently Vanessa had a far richer character arc than what was presented in the final cut of the film seeing her transformation into the iconic character Copycat and a deeper exploration of the love story between herself and Wade.
It was clear this part was what Miller was most passionate about as he stated he “fought hard to have that in there” and even in the eleventh hour prior to exiting the project, he spoke to the higher-ups at 20th Century Fox and pleaded with them before moving forward insisting they at least keep the Vanessa story before throwing everything out. But perhaps the biggest shocker came in the form of an iconic “Fantastic Four” character who was greenlit to make an appearance. Miller explained that he got permission to have “The Thing throwing down with Juggernaut” in the film’s climactic action set-piece.
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While talking to the “Deadpool” director it became clear that his massive love for the comics and characters helped fuel his planned vision for “Deadpool 2” and the prospect of seeing The Thing make an appearance would’ve had audiences losing their minds. What was most unfortunate, however, was that we never saw his take on advancing the character of Vanessa giving her her own voice and agency, which was a major point of contention for the 2018 sequel.
The stars didn’t necessarily align creatively for Miller to continue on with the Merc with a Mouth, but as one door closed another was opened allowing for the filmmaker to play in James Cameron’s iconic ‘Terminator’ sandbox in what is one of Miller’s favorite properties of all time. Look for that interview soon.
