2016 has been quite a year for the merc with the mouth. Besides the film having been years in the making and opening to huge success at the box office, the 20th Century Fox franchise has had its share of off camera controversy. In fact, this is the second piece of news connected to the project to come across our desk in just under a week with the first being the films co-star TJ Miller getting arrested a couple of days ago. This latest story however focuses on the film’s ex-director Tim Miller and lets us in on his reasons for his sudden departure on Deadpool 2.

During a recent interview, Miller who had been quiet thus far about his leaving the project, spoke bluntly about why he choose to leave and according to him, we may have had it partially right. The original reports that surfaced suggested the reason for his sudden departure was due in part to a disagreement between Miller and star/producer Ryan Reynolds over the overall look of the film, with Miller having a bigger and flashier vision in mind for the sequel and Reynolds wanting to stick to the feel of the original. It should come as no surprise that Fox drastically increased the budget for the sequel in response to the numbers the film has grossed. Speaking directly to fans Miller made the following comments:

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 3 times the budget. If you read the internet — who cares, really? But for those of you who do, 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. So don’t believe what you read on the internet.”

It would appear the early reports had it reversed and that Reynolds was in fact the force behind wanting to make Deadpool 2 a much bigger affair and it would make sense because we know the studio has given the star more creative control over the property. However, there is something that Miller and Reynolds directly contradict each other on and that would be the accounts of the fights/arguments during post production. Reynolds describes them as “vaguely scary fights” and also stated that making the movie was “very, very difficult.” In contrast, Miller’s recollection of events paints a much more calm experience. This is what he had to say with regard to working on the film:

Even when some people go, “The movie was really hard to make.” The movie was a joy to make. I think you see it on screen. We all had such a good time. We had a few arguments in post, but nothing more than usual. The crew was so great, everybody was going to come back and we were going to have such a good time and the idea that it was a difficult movie…It wasn’t, it was a joy, and it was the best experience of my life.”

Regardless of whose vision for Deadpool 2 was whose, it’s clear that there’s no love lost between the star, director, or even the studio with Reynold’s calling Miller “brilliant” while praising his work ethic and Miller expressing his best wishes for the project as well as his love for “all of the actors” involved. In addition, Miller is already working on another project for Fox. One last thing the director wanted to clear up with fans was the fact that actor Kyle Chandler of Friday Night Lights was never being considered for the role of Cable. Deadpool 2 is slated to hit theaters in 2018.

Are you surprised by Miller’s claims and does his departure make you worry for the sequel? Would it make a difference to you if Deadpool 2 was bigger and a bit more flashy? Let us know by joining the conversation in the comments below and as always make sure to keep a tab open on Don’t Feed The Gamers for all of the news you need to know.