UPDATED: “John Wick” director David Leitch has emerged as the frontrunner to helm “Deadpool 2,” less than a week after Tim Miller dropped out due to creative differences with star Ryan Reynolds.
The deal has not closed yet, however, and other candidates remain in contention.
Leitch, who also directed the Charlize Theron thriller “The Coldest City,” had initially been eyed by 20th Century Fox to helm its long-in-development “X-Force” movie adaptation.
Miller had not formally signed on to direct “Deadpool 2,” but was in the process of developing the script and was widely expected to return.
Fox had announced at CinemaCon in April that Reynolds would be back, as well as Miller. “Deadpool” gave Fox its biggest hit of 2016 after opening on Valentine’s Day to $782.6 million worldwide, supplanting “The Matrix Reloaded” to become the highest-grossing R-rated film in history.
Most of the creative team had been set to return for “Deadpool 2,” with Fox Film chief Stacey Snider also confirming at CinemaCon that screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick would be back to handle script duties. Fox has not set a release date for “Deadpool 2.”
Aside from Reynolds, it hasn’t been announced yet which stars will be back for the second installment. However, 10 actresses are currently testing for the female lead Domino, who will also reportedly appear in “X-Force.” The contenders are Sienna Miller, Lizzy Caplan , Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kelly Rohrbach, Ruby Rose, Mackenzie Davis, Eve Hewson, Sofia Boutella, Stephanie Sigman, and Sylvia Hoeks.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Leitch had been hired for the directing gig. The deal has not closed yet, however, and other candidates remain in contention. Leitch is the frontrunner for the job.
