Director David Leitch is making the rounds promoting his latest directorial effort, Bullet Train, but he proved himself more than capable of taking on big action when he took over helming duties from Tim Miller on Deadpool 2. Leitch had previously sat in the director’s chair with Chad Stahelski on the first John Wick movie, but Deadpool 2 marked his second solo effort. The sequel was a critical and financial hit, grossing $785 million at the global box office. So why isn’t David Leitch on board for Deadpool 3? It looks like it all came down to scheduling conflicts.
During a chat with Uproxx, the director opened up about not returning for Deadpool 3. He admits that there were talks for him to return, but the timing ultimately never worked out:
“It’s probably more of what I’m doing and some circumstance. I love all of those worlds, and they’re all precious to me. Starting with John Wick. Chad has taken over that franchise and executed it beautifully. And Deadpool is amazing. And Atomic Blonde, I would love to go back. When I look back, I would love to go back to those worlds, but I think the way it’s worked out for me, or fate has brought me to this place, is that I get new opportunities and they’re really awesome, interesting, as well. Now moving on and doing The Fall Guy with Gosling, we’re prepping right now. No. Look, we had conversations about Deadpool 3, but I just was … I had things in the pipeline, too. And it was never, ‘Hey, do you want to do it or not want to do it?’ or whatever. I think it was more we knew our dance cards were kind of full on both sides. And we have a window. And Marvel has calendars.”
A sequel to Deadpool 2 began to flounder due to the Disney/Fox merger. Marvel Studios now has the rights to the property, so it became more of a planning process for introducing the character into the greater MCU. Ryan Reynolds’ increasingly busy schedule has also complicated matters, although the powers that be all say they’re invested in bringing Deadpool into the MCU while maintaining its R-rated sensibilities. Writers are attached to Deadpool 3, and it was last reported that Shawn Levy, who has become a frequent collaborator with Ryan Reynolds, will be helming the project. Things appear to be moving forward, albeit very slowly.
Do YOU wish David Leitch would’ve stayed on board to direct Deadpool 3?