“Deadpool” director Tim Miller recently told Collider that he wishes his deal on the film included a piece of the merchandising so that he could’ve made significantly more money on the 2016 superhero tentpole that launched a mega-franchise for star Ryan Reynolds. Miller did not return to direct “Deadpool 2” or “Deadpool & Wolverine.” The original “Deadpool” movie, which marked his feature directorial debut, earned $782 million at the worldwide box office.
“You guys might not know, but it’s not really a profitable thing to be a first-time director in Hollywood, and I’ll tell you exactly,” Miller told Collider. “I got $225,000 to direct ‘Deadpool.’ I know it sounds like a lot of money, but for two years of work, that’s not a ton of money.”
“Not that I’m not grateful,” he added. “I’m fucking grateful, that’s the way it is because you’re supposed to when you’re a first-time director. My agent said: ‘Dude, you make more on an episode of “The Walking Dead!”‘”
“John Wick” filmmaker David Leitch took over the franchise as director on 2018’s “Deadpool 2,” which basically matched Miller’s entry with $785 million at the worldwide box office. Shawn Levy was behind the camera for this year’s “Deadpool & Wolverine,” Reynolds’ first outing in Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie earned $1.3 billion worldwide to become the highest-grossing R-rated release in history. Miller, meanwhile, went on to direct “Terminator: Dark Fate” and to executive produce Paramount’s successful “Sonic the Hedgehog” franchise.
Miller told Collider he has “nothing but pride” when it comes to the original “Deadpool” movie, adding: “I feel like every time I walk down the aisles out there on the floor of CCXP and I see all these Deadpool figurines, I think they wouldn’t be here if we hadn’t made that film. And I feel uniquely fortunate that I could be part of it. Then, then my second thought is, I wish my director deals had a piece of the merchandising so that I could get some money from all of that.”
He told the publication earlier in the chat: “I think a lot of people think that everyone’s getting paid millions and millions in Hollywood. It’s just not the case, not always. I don’t want to sound like I wasn’t grateful because I had worked, I was 50 when I got a chance to direct ‘Deadpool,’ and I really thought I wasn’t going to get a chance to direct a movie even though I’d wanted to my whole life.”
The “Deadpool” franchise is available to stream in its entirety on Disney+.
