Deadpool Director Reveals His Shockingly Low Pay for the Film: "You'd Get More for a The Walking Dead Episode," His Agent Told Him

Deadpool and Wolverine have become the second-highest-grossing films of the year, thanks in part to cameos, Wolverine himself, and Hugh Jackman’s star power. But let’s not forget the two previous Deadpool films, which were major hits in their own right. With such momentum, success seemed inevitable.

The first Deadpool was groundbreaking, setting new records for R-rated films and inspiring studios to take risks with bloodier, grittier, and more irreverent projects in both the superhero genre and beyond. While this approach didn’t always succeed, Deadpool brought in an impressive $782.6 million globally. In contrast, Tim Miller’s paycheck of $225,000 for directing the movie feels almost laughable.

In a conversation with Collider during Brazil’s Comic Con (CCXP), Miller opened up about how little he was paid for the film. While $225,000 might seem like a lot—equivalent to about 89 million HUF—it’s a modest sum by Hollywood standards, even for a rookie feature film director. Reflecting on the experience, Miller shared:

"You know what I feel? Nothing but pride. Every time I walk down the hallways at CCXP and see these Deadpool figures, I feel proud. I don’t think they’d be there if we hadn’t made that movie. And I feel incredibly lucky to have been a part of it. But I do wish my directing contracts had included merchandising deals, so I could have made some money off all those products.

"You may have heard this before, but being a first-time director in Hollywood doesn’t pay well. I’ll tell you exactly how much I made: $225,000. I know it sounds like a lot, but for two years of work, that’s not much. I’m not ungrateful—far from it. You have to be grateful as a first-time director. But back then, my agent told me, ‘Man, you’d get more for directing an episode of The Walking Dead!’

"I think people assume everyone in Hollywood is making millions, but that’s just not true—not always. I don’t want to seem ungrateful for the opportunity because I’d worked in the industry before, but when Deadpool came along, I was already 50 years old. I genuinely didn’t think I’d ever get the chance to direct a feature film, even though I’d dreamed of it my entire life."

Before Deadpool, Miller worked as an animator and VFX artist and had only directed short films. The 2016 superhero (or anti-hero) movie was his big break. However, as Collider pointed out, Deadpool faced significant challenges before its release. Fans had already seen a disappointing version of the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, where Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool was poorly handled—complete with a stitched-shut mouth in the film’s finale. Success was far from guaranteed.

Additionally, the movie was made on a relatively small budget of $58 million, especially compared to other superhero films released the same year, such as the $178 million X-Men: Apocalypse, the $250 million Captain America: Civil War, and the $250–325 million Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Miller’s career stumbled briefly after the failure of Terminator: Dark Fate, which he recently addressed. However, he’s found renewed success with the video game-themed anthology series Secret Level, which has been so well-received that a second season has been ordered.