Deadpool 2: Director Tim Miller breaks silence over why he left the sequel

Miller's surprise departure saw insiders claim it was due to a clash with star Ryan Reynolds over the film's budget

You'd think Deadpool 2 would be facing nothing but sunshine and green fields in its road to production, considering the massive amount of hype and goodwill built around it thanks to Deadpool's own surprise box office success.

Yet, the sequel hit an unexpected bump in the road when returning director Tim Miller suddenly dropped out of the project, with insiders claiming it was due to a clash of vision between Miller and star Ryan Reynolds - specifically over Miller's apparent desire to deliver a flashy, mega-budget superhero film versus Reynolds (alongside writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick)'s desire to keep things scrappy, raunchy, and inexpensive.

Except, Miller has now finally broken his silence over the matter and has slammed the previous claims; appearing on CG Garage's 100th episode and stating, "I just want to say one thing to the geek audience out there because it's important to me what the geeks and nerds of the world think because they are my brothers and sisters: I didn't want to make some stylized movie that was three times the budget."

"I wanted to make the same kind of movie that we made before because I think that's the right movie to make for the character," he continued. "So don't believe what you read on the Internet. I wanted to do the same thing."

So what's going on? Were the rumours entirely false or were they a rash simplification of what may have been a far more nuanced clash of creative differences within the team? We may never know, as the film swiftly found a replacement for Miller in the form of David Leitch, one-half of the directing team behind 2015's sleeper hit John Wick.

Things, then, look back on track for the project itself at least; with the first film meanwhile launching its hilarious Oscar campaign, with Reynolds himself penning a letter to critics, Academy voters, and guild members alike in the hopes of wooing just a little Academy glory.

Deadpool 2 is set for release on 2 March 2018.