Ryan Reynolds is "sad" to Tim Miller won't be directing 'Deadpool 2'.
The 40-year-old actor - who plays the titular character - declined to comment on claims the filmmaker had departed the sequel due to creative differences between them, but showered him with praise over the work he did on the first installment in the Marvel saga.
When asked if the rumours were true, he shared: "All I can really add is that I'm sad to see him off the film.
"Tim's brilliant and nobody worked harder on 'Deadpool' than he did."
Making 'Deadpool' was a labour of love for Ryan and took 11 years to come to fruition, and he admitted his passion for the project often conflicted with Tim's vision for the movie, making production "very, very difficult".
He told GQ magazine: "Making the movie was very, very difficult. It was the most passionate group of individuals I've ever worked with in my life.
"And for whatever reason, that mercurial crazy burgoo of people is what made this thing work so well, not just because I had this vision and I saw it this way and it had to be this way. It worked because we all had that feeling.
"But there were vaguely scary fights in the post-production process that escalated quickly. Luckily, everybody's grown up and at the end of the day enjoys and loves each other."
However, they were able to reach a comfortable working relationship by recognising where their expertise lay.
Ryan explained: "I know when I need to exert control, and I know when I need to let go of it.
"I'm not gonna go and sit with Tim Miller and say, 'The visual effects of 'Deadpool' need to be done this way.' The man is a visual-effects wizard.
"But there are character and tone things that I know really well. And I've also been with this thing the longest out of anybody, aside from the guys that wrote the comics.
"Eleven years I've been trying to get this Sisyphus rock up the hill, and it kept rolling back on top of me. So I'm gonna be all the f**k over it from the moment it starts to the moment it finishes."
Tagged in Ryan Reynolds Blake Lively Tim Miller