Director David Leitch Vows To Respect The DNA Of Deadpool Ahead Of Upcoming Sequel

Whether you label it the difficult second album or simply the second-year syndrome, delivering a follow-up worthy of its progenitor – if not better – is a very real, very tricky situation for creators, irrespective of the medium they’re operating in. For John Wick co-director David Leitch, that task will involve a sequel to Tim Miller’s Deadpool, a movie that flipped the bird at Hollywood convention and was all the better for it.

Tethered with an R rating, Miller’s sleeper hit raked in almost $750 million worldwide, which is an impressive feat by anyone’s standards, let alone a foul-mouthed anti-hero that had spent the previous half-decade gestating in development hell. Fast forward to 2017 and 20th Century Fox is now gearing up for Deadpool 2, and already the studio has welcomed newcomer Zazie Beetz in the coveted role of Domino.

With a Cable announcement imminent – Batman V Superman‘s Michael Shannon is said to be tip-top of Fox’s wanted list, after Brad Pitt bowed out of the race – David Leitch looks set to start filming over the coming months, and while at CinemaCon to promote his Cold War thriller Atomic Blonde, the filmmaker spoke with Cinema Blend about his approach to the Merc’s next solo outing.

While he’s aiming to place his own stamp on Deadpool 2 – unlike, say, Iron Man 2, it won’t be beholden to future movies – David Leitch was quick to stress that the DNA of Wade Wilson won’t change in the slightest. Yes, Ryan Reynolds’ fast-talking vigilante will still be the same anti-hero we know and love.

Per Cinema Blend:

I think you have to pay homage to this movie that’s so beloved. Everybody is anticipating it. And I think we have to find a way to make it distinctly our own, and we’re doing that. The DNA of Deadpool shouldn’t change. He’s such a lovable character, we’re going to carry that through.

Joining forces with screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, David Leitch is expected to fire up production on Deadpool 2 sometime in 2017, at which point the filmmaker may well shed light on the “evolution” of Vanessa Carlysle. Will the sequel introduce Copycat as a means of bridging the gap between Deadpool 2 and X-Force? We’ll find out very soon.