Tim Miller Reveals His Paltry Salary For Directing 2016’s ‘Deadpool’

While filmmaker Shawn Levy was brought in to helm this year’s Deadpool & Wolverine, the franchise’s foundation was laid by Tim Miller, who made his feature film directorial debut with 2016’s Deadpool.

In a recent interview with Collider, Miller reflected on his time working on the first Deadpool installment, revealing that he made just $225,000 directing the movie.

“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 explained. “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.”

Photo: IMDB

Deadpool would eventually make $782 million at the global box office and launch one of Marvel’s most lucrative franchises.

“That’s the Way It Is”

According to Miller, his low pay scale was not indicative of any wrongdoing by Fox, Marvel, or Ryan Reynolds. Instead, it was a result of how Hollywood works.

“Not that I’m not grateful, I’m [freaking] grateful,” Miller continued.

Photo: The News International

“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!’

Miller’s Later Successes

After his success with Deadpool, Miller was able to make the jump to the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, where he served as an executive producer. He has subsequently also directed Terminator: Dark Fate and produced Borderlands.

Photo: Vulture

Miller would eventually hand the Deadpool franchise over to David Leitch for Deadpool 2, who would, in turn, pass the baton to Levy. Seeing the Merc with the Mouth join Disney and the broader MCU, Miller is proud of his role in establishing the franchise.

“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 quipped.

Photo: Marvel

All three Deadpool films are now streaming on Disney+.