‘Deadpool’ Director Says He Was Only Paid $225K For 2 Years Of Work

“Deadpool” director Tim Miller said his salary for the 2016 smash hit comedy superhero film “Deadpool” was only $225,000, leaving him wishing he had negotiated for a cut of merchandising too.

The Ryan Reynolds-led film, which is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was a massive success, pulling in $782 million at the worldwide box office, Variety reported. 

“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 said during a panel at CCXP in São Paulo, Brazil, per 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.”

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The director went on, “Not that I’m not grateful. I’m f***ing 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!'”

The fan hype led to the release of “Deadpool 2” (2018) and a third installment, “Deadpool & Wolverine” (2024). Miller did not return for either of the follow-up films.

“John Wick” filmmaker David Leitch was the director for “Deadpool 2” while director Shawn Levy took over for this year’s installment, which was even more successful than the first two. “Deadpool & Wolverine,” starring Reynolds and Hugh Jackman as the other lead, earned $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office. It was the highest-grossing R-rated release in history, Variety noted. 

Since getting his big break with “Deadpool,” Miller continued working in Hollywood and directed “Terminator: Dark Fate” (2019) and was named executive producer for Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” franchise.

He is also the creator of the animated anthology series “Love, Death & Robots” (2019–present). Miller won three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Short Form Animated Program for the series.