News broke last night that Deadpool 2 has had another high-profile walkout, this time from the music department.
Tom Holkenborg, better known as Junkie XL, scored the first Deadpool and was responsible for all those Moog Synth noises you heard throughout the film. In a lengthy statement on his Facebook page, Holkenborg talked about standing with exiting director Tim Miller. "Tim was the driving force behind Deadpool and me getting involved in this amazing project. Deadpool without Tim at the helm just does not sit right with me and that is why I have decided not to be involved in the second chapter."
This, of course, begs the question that people have been asking since Tim Miller walked away - what the f**k is going with Deadpool 2 and do we hate Ryan Reynolds now?
Unless official information and confirmation comes out, all we can do is speculate and listen to rumours for often reliable sources. The news going around the campfire is that Tim Miller had a very different version of Deadpool 2 in his mind compared to Ryan Reynolds.
Miller, whose worked with some heavy-hitters in the past including David Fincher, allegedly wanted the film to go in a more traditional route and wanted more focus on big action sequences and special effects. After all, Miller's background is in visual departments and more than likely wanted to move things in a direction he felt more comfortable with and ready for.
Not only that, Miller - and the writers, apparently - were pushing Kyle Chandler as the choice for Cable. According to sources, this was something that Ryan Reynolds disagreed with and Fox disagreed with as well. You have to remember that Deadpool's success played a big part in giving Reynolds much, much more clout the second time around.
Reynolds was pushing hard for Deadpool for many years and it looked all but dead until test footage - which Miller designed and directed - leaked online and spread like wildfire. Undoubtedly, Reynolds feels a lot of ownership for the character so why wouldn't he want his own vision of Deadpool 2 to be made?
Moreover, it's telling that Rhett Rheese and Paul Wernick - the two writers behind Deadpool - have had their script, Life, made into a film with Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds at Fox whilst Miller has left the studio entirely and headed for Sony and a live-action Sonic The Hedgehog movie.
Going back to Cable for a moment, it's understandable why Reynolds disagreed with the choice of Kyle Chandler. While he is a brilliant actor, Early Edition was a long time ago, Friday Night Lights didn't exactly travel well internationally and - quite honestly - people know him as 'that guy' and not specifically as Kyle Chandler. Hell, some people even get him confused with Ron Livingston.
Cable's a big character in the X-Meniverse and it needs a name actor. Stephen Lang, bless him, doesn't have a prayer. It's no wonder that Mel Gibson's name was floated in the post credits scene and was Reynolds' first choice for the role. That's looking increasingly unlikely now as Gibson's comeback trail is looking brighter and brighter - and there may even be a Best Picture Oscar at the end of it. Therefore, why would he need to do a superhero movie, let alone a superhero movie sequel?
Whoever signs on for Cable, whoever ends up directing, one thing is clear - there's a smell around Deadpool 2 and it's going to be a difficult task to clear it up.
