Welcome to The Top 5, where every week, we list five things for a given topic. These topics can range from “5 Things We Liked About The Power Rangers Teaser Trailer” to “5 Things We Want (Or Don’t Want) In Ben Affleck’s The Batman.”

Of course, because everyone has an opinion, there is sure to be some disagreements, which is why, despite the title “The Top 5,” very rarely are these actual “best of” articles. Instead, they’re meant to provide entertaining insight, and to stir a discussion, and give everyone a chance to speak their mind. 

If you have a suggestion for a Top 5 piece, send them my way via #TheTop5LRM on Twitter. If I choose your topic, I’ll be sure to give you a shoutout!

Now, on with today’s topic!

5 DIRECTORS WE WANT TO SEE HELM DEADPOOL 2!

By all accounts, you’d think Ryan Reynolds and Deadpool director Tim Miller would be getting along famously. With some persistence and a whole lotta elbow grease, they managed not only to make a great film, but to make the highest grossing R-rated film in the history of cinema. Going into the sequel, you’d imagine they’d be on the same page.After all, they’d spent a good half-decade on the first film, so their opinions on where to take the story next couldn’t differ all that much, could they?

Turns out, they could. Last Saturday, it was reported that Miller departed the project due to creative differences with Reynolds, leaving a vacuum in the production for the directing gig. So who should fill it?

That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? What approach should they take? Should they take the Marvel Studios approach and just get someone who could execute the studio vision, or should they get someone who has a lot more to bring to the table?

While we can’t necessarily answer one way or another just yet, that hasn’t stopped us from speculating as to who would do a great job in the director’s chair.

So here we go: five directors who can helm Deadpool 2.

EDGAR WRIGHT

This one is definitely a bit of a gimme. Not only has Wright directed such fan favorite fare as Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, but he’s also thrown his hat in the comic book movie genre already with his 2011 film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. While the movie itself wasn’t a financial success, it was widely praised by critics, and was a testament of his amazing directorial skills and strong vision.

It also can’t be forgotten that Wright also spent nearly a decade working on Ant-Man, a film that would ultimately be turned over to Peyton Reed to execute on behalf of Marvel Studios. In the months leading up to its production, Wright left, citing creative differences. All in all, Wright is someone who knows comics, respects the material, and could bring a unique vision that would result in an amazing end product.

GUY RITCHIE

This is a guy whose directing style screams at you. Be it in Snatch or the more mainstream Sherlock Holmes, Guy Ritchie has a kinetic, whiplash-y style that could be a great complement to the likes of Deadpool. Between the sharp cuts in-between scenes, or gut-wrenching action scenes, Ritchie is someone with a solid understanding of how to tell a visual story in as vivid a way as possible.

Of course, given his track record, he doesn’t necessarily scream “comic book movie,” but there’s no denying the chops he has behind the camera. Ritchie is a director known for having a hand in the script in his films, but given his inexperience with similar source material, I would go the Sherlock Holmes route with this one, and keep his involvement strictly as a visionary that could help to execute the material put forward by Ryan Reynolds and the two writers.

TODD PHILLIPS

A strange choice here. Todd Phillips is known more for his broad comedies than any tour-de-force directing style. That being said, I’d say that between The Hangover and War Dogs, Phillips has not only shown a keen ability to show raunchy humor — which is pretty integral to Deadpool — but he’s also shown his ability to tell an interesting story.

The Hangover, while a comedy, showed that he could handle a solid mystery tale that happens to incorporate a good deal of humor. War Dogs is a semi-serious story laced with a dark, morbid sense of hilarity. I won’t speak to Due Date or the Hangover sequels — none of which were much good in my mind, but I’d fault the scripts for that, not the direction. In short, given the right material, Phillips’ knack for comedy amid a darker undertone could serve Deadpool 2 well.

GORE VERBINSKI

Love them or hate them, Gore Verbinski has shown that he could do some real good in the big budget department. The Pirates movies — while progressively less successful in the story department show he has a handle on setting a grand style and tone. The same could be said of Lone Ranger, which is a not-so-good film with solid direction — again, a fault of the script.

However, Verbinski proved with the animated film Rango that he still had a tongue-in-cheek, wall-breaking sense of humor, along with a strange, awkward, and unpolished vision that made the movie such a unique beast. Is his mostly-rotten filmography a bit disconcerting? I’d say yes, but he’s proven on at least a few occasions that he has some special things to share with audiences, and under the guidance of Reynolds and the script from Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, we could see a perfect storm of talent.

MATTHEW VAUGHN

Here is probably the name most fans want to see as a possibility for director. Not only is Vaughn coming off another successful R-rated franchise with Kingsman (assuming its upcoming sequel lives up to the first one), but he has experience in the X-Men Universe, where he put the waning franchise back on course for success with X-Men: First Class — a film that should not have been any good, considering the time frame it was produced in. Given this experience, we know that he knows the world, and that he knows the characters. Coming into Deadpool 2 would be like riding a bike.

Additionally, if there’s one thing we can say about Vaughn that only applies to one other director on this list (Edgar Wright), it’s that he has never directed a bad movie. In many ways, Vaughn’s involvement in any project tends to be a seal of quality. Without a doubt, if he were to hop on board Deadpool 2, it would curb any fears about the movie’s potential future almost immediately.

BONUS: UWE BOLL

Just kidding. God no.

What do you think? What directors would you like to see helm Deadpool 2 in the wake of Tim Miller? Do you agree with any of the directors on this list? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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