deadpool 2

Recovering from a pretty weird start, Deadpool 2’s pre-production is currently underway with Deadpool scriptwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick back for a second go-round. Now, we’ve learned that the writing team is getting an assist from Daredevil writer and Cabin in the Woods writer-director Drew Goddard.

Some comic book characters are easier to adapt than others. Superman, for instance, may have hundreds of writers and artists to his name, but the core principles of his character remain the same: he’s powerful, he’s kind, and he’s an idealist in a universe that doesn’t often reward characters for putting their faith in other people. Even when someone like Frank Miller wants to give the character a modern spin, it’s done by exaggerating these core principles, not setting them aside entirely.

Even a murderous mercenary loner needs a couple friends every now and then.

Deadpool, by his very nature as a mercenary, assassin, and general pain-in-the-butt, doesn’t play very well with others. For most of his comic book life, he’s been separated from the rest of the Marvel Universe, although in recent years he has become an unlikely member of teams like X-Force, the Thunderbolts, and even the Avengers. His first movie, Deadpool, was similarly shut off, not just from the Marvel Cinematic Universe but most of the X-Men Cinematic Universe. Apart from appearances from Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Deadpool stood alone.

One of the stranger stories to end the year was the sudden departure of director Tim Miller from Deadpool 2, the sequel to 2016’s biggest breakout hit. Given the original film’s agonizing production history, it seemed like shooting a sequel would be a walk in the woods; instead, Miller’s decision to walk away from the project caught everyone by surprise, and rumors have swirled about creative differences ever since. Thankfully, Miller himself recently spoke at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects (via iO9) and put some of these rumors to bed.

Not long after director Tim Miller exited the Deadpool sequel over creative differences with Ryan Reynolds, reports revealed the reason behind the split: Miller, a VFX pro, wanted to make a more polished (and more expensive) sequel, while Reynolds (and screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick) wanted to stick to the scrappy (and less expensive) style that made the first film such a hit. Now, with John Wick co-director David Leitch at the helm, Reynolds and producer Simon Kinberg have offered a quick update on Deadpool 2, including words of praise for Leitch and a promise to make sure the sequel is in keeping with its predecessor.

The future was looking bright for the X-Men franchise after Bryan Singer revived it with First Class, but after this summer’s Apocalypse, it’ll take a lot to get the mutants back on their feet. The upcoming Wolverine solo joint Logan will see Hugh Jackman comb his hair into ears for one last ride, but after that it’s anyone’s game. Today, we hear there’s a new X-Men movie shooting sometime next spring, but which one is it?

A few weeks ago, Deadpool director Tim Miller shocked the world  —  or a nerdier and more profane subsection of the world, anyways — by walking away from Deadpool 2. As reporters scrambled to make sense of why Miller would leave one of the breakout franchises of 2016, reports emerged that Miller and star Ryan Reynolds had very conflicting ideas for the upcoming sequel and that 20th Century Fox had thrown their support behind Reynolds’ vision for the franchise. Deadpool 2 was officially in the hands of Ryan Reynolds now, but the film still needed a director, and the hunt was on.

Tim Miller’s exit from Deadpool 2 over “creative differences” looked to most of us like yet another imaginative director being taken advantage of by a big studio. Then, we learned that those creative differences weren’t with Marvel or Disney, but with the star Ryan Reynolds himself. As it turned out, Reynolds had an idea for the sequel that didn’t correspond with what Miller wanted to do, so Miller decided to leave the project. Now, Reynolds has made his first public comments about the issue.

It may be difficult to believe in light of the 2016 election results, but there is other news still happening out there — even in the world of film, which offers a welcome distraction for many right now. And 20th Century Fox is serving up some pretty major news today, with a report that sheds light on the studio’s plans for the future of their expanding X-Men franchise, including Deadpool 3, X-Force and Gambit.