UPDATE 2: Looks like we have another couple directors to add the pool. Deadline is reporting that Cabin in the Woods director Drew Goddard (who also executive produces Netflix’s Daredevil) is in the running to helm the Deadpool 2. Also throwing his hat in the ring is TV director Magnus Martens, who directed an episode of Luke Cage. There are also others involved in the search, but these are a couple of the bigger names.

UPDATE 1: Mashable’s Jeff Sneider took to Twitter to clarify the story regarding David Leitch, stating that the director’s hiring is “not official” and that he is merely a frontrunner at this point. You can check out the tweet below:

ORIGINAL STORY:

Ever since Tim Miller exited Deadpool 2 last week, rumors have swirled about what the exact issue was. Something that’s gone somewhat under the radar is the question of who, exactly, Fox and star Ryan Reynolds were looking at to replace him. I’ve heard some pretty wild stuff from my back-channel sources, but today I’d like to share with you someone who seems to be a realistic option that they’re looking at: David Leitch, who co-directed both John Wick movies.

Leitch and co-director Chad Stahelski both had a bit of a Cinderella story when their John Wick came out in 2014 and was an instant fan-favorite. See, that was his feature directorial debut after years of working behind the scenes in various stunt-related jobs. His resumé included films like Fight Club, The Matrix, Blade, Daredevil, and even X-Men Origins: Wolverine– where he got to work with Reynolds during his first outing as Wade Wilson, aka Deadpool. John Wick made Leitch and Stahelski names to look out for, though, and now it would appear that Fox is doing exactly that.

According to Mashable, they’re looking at Leitch, and he’s one of their top choices. I wish I could share with you who the other person is that they’d love to hire, but I’d get in way too much trouble. If we here at LRM can get tertiary confirmation, we’ll happily share that intel with you. For now, just know that Leicht is in the running and- if he gets the job- that would actually be pretty damn cool.

Similar to Miller- who made a huge splash with his directorial debut with Deadpool, Leitch is a relatively new filmmaker who has spent years honing his skills as an action-oriented visual storyteller. Perhaps Reynolds and co. are hoping he can do for them what Miller did on the first Deadpool– which was to basically bring his and the writer’s offbeat vision to explosive life, but basically understand they they’re running the show (“they” being Reynolds, Rhett Reese, and Paul Wernick).

READ ALSO: “Dear Ryan Reynolds“

SOURCE: Mashable