“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!”‘”
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“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+.