Why the 'Deadpool 2' Director Left 'Jurassic World Rebirth'

David Leitch and Kelly McCormick, who are married, are also the principals behind stunt-spectacular film company 87North.

They produced the John Wick series, Nobody and its sequel Nobody 2, Bullet Train, Violent Night, The Fall Guy, and more. They're a production company with a very specific approach to storytelling, and you know exactly what you're getting when you buy a ticket. It has made them very successful.

Leitch also directs and was briefly attached to summer hit Jurassic World Rebirth, which was penned by the OG franchise screenwriter David Koepp.

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In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the duo was asked about why they dropped out.

McCormick said, "If we jump into IP or a franchise, it's got to be the right one at the right moment for all the right reasons. And we were very seduced by the amazing franchise that Jurassic is. But it's harder and harder to make originals, and we just felt like, 'If they go away, let's try to make originals as much as possible as quickly as possible.'"

Leitch agreed.

"When you see an opportunity for material that's original that you like that a studio is going to support and finance, we want to keep pushing for that."

Understandably, their desire is to focus on new original stories when they can, rather than join an existing universe.

The interviewer brought up that Leitch previously directed Deadpool 2. What would it take him to return to producing for Marvel?

"If we were in charge of the architecture of a universe that was around a particular IP, that scratches the creative itch," Leitch said. "It's less of the director-producer for hire and more, 'If you want to let us architect the universe, that's really exciting to us.' We're looking for those opportunities, and if that comes our way, we'll entertain them. Kelly, in particular, is building our own franchises. Like Nobody, like Violent Night 2, which we start shooting in four weeks."

Violent Night is their David Harbour-starrer that features a Santa Claus with a taste for vengeance.

Jurassic World Rebirth eventually went to Gareth Edwards, and the movie has gone on to gross $847 million at the box office so far. Nobody 2 has done all right, too, opening soft but growing to around $30 million at the worldwide box office.

Choosing projects always comes with a lot of pressure, but it seems Leitch is guided by his creative aspirations, and that's admirable.

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