'Deadpool 2' Turmoil: Director and Composer Are Out

It's only been a few months since Deadpool became the surprise blockbuster of 2016, and already the film has seen a sequel go into development and lose its director. This week, the news broke that, after the departure of the original film's director from the sequel, the score composer is leaving, too. It's not great news for a project that hopes to be the launch of a mega-lucrative superhero franchise.

The biggest blow to Deadpool 2 came in October with the departure of director Tim Miller because of his "creative differences" with producer and star Ryan Reynolds. There's been no trustworthy, official reason given for Miller's exit, but rumors have suggested that the disagreement was about the movie's budget, its style, or its casting decisions. In any case, it seems that Reynolds and Miller had different visions for the project, and in the end, Reynolds' version won.

This week it became apparent that Miller's departure would have some fall out. Composer Tom Holkenborg, who works under the pseudonym Junkie XL, said that working on a sequel "without Tim at the helm doesn't sit right with me," and he walked away from the project.

While Miller's departure will very likely delay the projected January 2018 release of Deadpool 2, fans of the original movie should take heart in the fact that Reynolds and original writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese are still on board. That means, no doubt, that the sequel will still have plenty of crass humor and winking, fourth-wall-disrupting references to itself. Holkenborg's departure could mean that the soundtrack will rely more on campy pop music than on original music.