The Merc with a Mouth is squeezing back into the tight red spandex again for Deadpool 2, and he's bringing a lot of new blood with him. Of course, there's the much-hyped additions of Josh Brolin as Cable, the fan-favorite gruff mutant mercenary, and Zazie Beets as Domino, a fellow X-Force anti-hero, but Deadpool 2 also brings John Wick co-director David Leitch to the helm as director.
With Leitch's spy thriller Atomic Blonde arriving in theaters this week, Collider's Perri Nemiroff recently sat down for a chat with the director for an interview and of course, the conversation turned Deadpool 2. After Deadpool director Tim Miller departed the project, Leitch landed what must have been one of the most coveted gigs in Hollywood, but the director says it wasn't a particular take on the character or the franchise that got him the job, it was his entire approach to filmmaking that made him the right guy for Fox to start over with.
Leitch explained,
"I think at that point, it wasn't necessarily a take, it was a sensibility because we were starting from sort of ground zero and reworking the script at that point, they wanted to just start over. So it was really more of my sensibility and how I approach filmmaking. Then once we had the material locked down, and how I was going to collaborate with Ryan and stay true to the DNA of the first movie that was so successful but then also add the spice that is who I am as a filmmaker and they... bought it, which is so strange [laughs]. No, they were excited about that idea.
And I was excited to be able to play in that sandbox. In the universe of Deadpool, there are no rules and that's what's really interesting."
Leitch also talked about recruiting Josh Brolin to take on the role of Cable -- a role that lined up an impressive roster of interested talent, including David Harbour, Michael Shannon, and even Brad Pitt. But Brolin won out in the end, and according to Leitch, he is the embodiment of Cable.
"I always wanted a great actor to come to the table for Cable and I wanted somebody who could embody the character. Josh is obviously a prolific actor, and genuinely in his roles, he finds a humanity to every character he plays, even when he's playing some things that might be seen as caricatures, he finds a humanity. So I was super excited that we landed him. I know there were a lot of names in the mix, and great people that could have landed this too, but I am 100% grateful we ended up with him. He is the embodiment of [Cable] and the energy between him and Ryan is amazing. We're having so much fun making this movie.
Deadpool 2 is currently in production and scheduled to land in theaters on June 1, 2018.
