Deadpool 2 Interview: Director David Leitch

Need a squeaky-clean superhero to save the day? That isn’t Deadpool. At all. As fans know, the wisecracking, perpetually cursing “merc with a mouth” Deadpool would rather gut his enemies than lock them up.

After the first movie raked in an a whopping $783 million worldwide at the box office, a sequel seemed guaranteed. And, here it is: Deadpool 2 finds the disfigured, red spandex-wearing mercenary, played by Ryan Reynolds, teaming up with X-Force to protect a boy from the time-traveling Cable.

Director David Leitch recently spoke with CBR about building on the previous installment, Deadpool’s potty mouth, giving the mercenary some heart and bringing Cable to the big screen.

CBR: The old adage goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Given the success of 2016’s Deadpool, you could have phoned in a by-the-numbers sequel. What did you want to accomplish with this film?

David Leitch: I was such a huge fan of the original. I was envious of the original. The universe is so fun and irreverent and the type of action that I like to play in. Given the opportunity to experiment in that world, it was hard to say no. I wanted to make sure that we were referential to the original. It’s so successful and a global phenomenon. There are things, in my opinion, that made it successful. It has a heartfelt story. The first movie is like a love story. It has this irreverent comedy, rated-R comedy, that you don’t get to do much.

What we really needed to do was expand it enough that it could live in the summer-scape, the tentpole space. We were going to have a release date between Avengers and Solo. If anything, I knew we had to broaden our horizons with the set pieces and the scope of the film and believe that this world could expand and live as a summer movie.

If the first movie lays the foundation of the character and establishes the universe, how does the sequel build on the previous installment?

You find Deadpool has slightly evolved at the beginning of the movie. He’s in a great relationship with Vanessa. But, then he’s put into another existential crisis. I think the thing about making the plot about Deadpool and what he needs to learn, that’s what makes it so relatable to the audience. If we can find our way into that, we can also wrap the movie in all the trappings that make Deadpool fun.

Deadpool isn’t exactly the most touch-feely antihero. How important was it giving the character some heart and grounding his motivations?

It’s incredibly important. Without grounding it in real heart, he’s going to get real annoying, real fast. There needs to be a soul to the movie. At the end of the day, we all know Deadpool slides like all of us. He’s just trying to do the right thing. He just has a messed-up method of doing it.

Audiences are super-hyped to see X-Force on the big screen. How did you narrow down which characters to bring in?

What we did was look at some interesting powers. Then we looked at ways we could have fun with them and how they related to Deadpool. We had a list. We knew we were going to build out a team. It was really based on powers and the characters and again, how it all relates to Deadpool and how we could have fun with their interactions.

Are they "X-Men Light"… or dark? How would you compare the two teams?

X-Force is X-Men dark. They are a group of morally flexible, more flawed individuals. They may have a different sort of way that they approach problems. At least, that’s how we wanted to take it.

Domino is a key player in the Deadpool mythology. What’s your take on her?

We wanted to have fun with the Domino character. In casting Zazie [Beetz], who after the first reading with Ryan, we knew we found her. She’s undeniably cool and her chemistry with Ryan was amazing. But, we wanted to have fun with the powers and defining luck. So, I put it to the stunt team and choreography team. “How can we expand on this? How can we make it visually entertaining on the big screen and differentiate it from the stuff we have seen in the comics?”

Cable can’t be pegged as a typical adversary. What can you tease about what leads him to tangle with Deadpool?

They both are both clinging to a pivotal moment in time. Again, when you have a time-travel element in a movie, it opens up a lot of questions. It can open up a lot of moral questions, like right versus wrong and nature versus nurture. Their story is wrapped up in that.

Page 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='What Josh Brolin brought to the role of Cable, the action potential in Deadpool and where Wade could end up next']

How did Josh Brolin help you realize your vision of the character?

Oh, because he’s an incredible actor. I was really hoping to land someone with his abilities for Cable. I was so grateful when he came onboard. I always wanted someone with a quiet cool, someone who could play a Clint Eastwood-style, guy from the past but lives in the future sort of vibe. There’s a lot Josh can do with just a look. You need an actor with an incredible tool kit to make that happen.

Once they get their shit together, how do Deadpool and Cable play off of each other? Is it like the wise guy opposite the straight man?

There’s a lot of things going on. It can be in the spirit of that. They also have their own sort of dynamic. In the spirit of those classic buddy cop movies, there’s a lot of that Eddie Murphy/Nick Nolte vibe.

Speaking of humor, the movie takes jabs at quite a few franchises, characters etc… Was anything off limits?

When we were in production, there was nothing off limits. We swung for the fences. We made blue humor the order of the day. When you get into editing, that’s where you get to find that stuff. That’s where the movie starts to speak to you. You are like, “Is this moment a subversive comedy moment, or, is this an emotional moment? Is this moment where we want to push the boundaries, or, is this the moment we want to restrain ourselves because we are going to push the boundaries later?”

I think it was a constant balance to make it all work. It’s not all cut and dry. I will say this. The script was a really good blueprint. That draft came in and it was funny and irreverent and was hitting all the right notes.

Thanks to John Wick and Atomic Blonde, you’ve become known for your intense action sequences. In what ways did Deadpool’s unique healing factor allow you to push the envelope in that department?

Look, we get to have fun with his healing power. Again, that’s what is cool as a choreographer and being involved in a superhero movie. Their powers are so specific. But, a power of super-healing is actually a problem and an opportunity. The problem is there is no stakes. It’s hard to kill him. The opportunity is, “Wow. How do you do a reverse choke on a guy who dislocated your arm and wrapped it around your head?” You can do all these self-sacrificing moves that are really interesting, but you have to find a way to keep the stakes alive and real.

Collaboration can be an important part of the movie-making process. What was your working relationship with Ryan Reynolds?

It was a close collaboration. I said to him, “There’s huge expectations, man. I feel those expectations.” He was like, “I feel those expectations, too. We really need to rely on each other and be honest with each other if things aren’t working. It needs to be upfront and open. I’ll rely on you if you rely on me.” We were true to that, and he was true to that. He’s a great producer, a great writer and he’s arguably one of the best comedic talents of his generation.

Ryan’s superpowers are arguably his comedic timing, improvisational skills and endless enthusiasm. What’s the trick to harnessing all that energy?

You give him as much runway as possible. You don’t want to box him in. He’s a comedic genius and you want to let that flow and wrangle the things around him. That’s how I approached it.

What kind of discussions did you have with Ryan about fully integrating this version of Deadpool into the X-Men Universe or the MCU?

I don’t know where it goes from here. I came on early to work on X-Force and that’s how I ended up here on Deadpool 2. Deadpool can go anywhere it wants to go. If it did get into the MCU, wow, they would have an asset they could play with. If you put Deadpool in an X-Men movie, that would also be amazing. Anywhere he goes he is going to up the value.

What surprised you the most about directing a superhero film like this?

It was how much fun I had. We had so many laughs. The laughter was the emotional engine that kept me going. The schedule was short. Post was short. But, man we had so much fun. I didn’t expect that. It felt like boundless energy.

Catch up with all of CBR's Deadpool 2 coverage!