By Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter

David Leitch, one half of the directing and stunt team behind the John Wick movies, has emerged as the frontrunner to direct Fox’s Deadpool 2.

The move happens about a week after the sequel to the surprise Ryan Reynolds hit lost its director, Tim Miller, over “creative differences.”

Related: ’Deadpool 2′ Loses Director Tim Miller Over Creative Differences

Miller’s exit late last week caught many by surprise. The filmmaker made his feature directorial debut with the movie and was considered a key figure in the movie’s gargantuan success along with writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, and Reynolds, of course.

But sources said differences between Miller and Reynolds surfaced during the first movie, and while they were smoothed over, they resurfaced again during the sequel’s development.

View photos David Leitch (Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) More

Leitch’s name first emerged Monday but insiders said the studio and producers were meeting with other potential candidates. Drew Goddard and Magnus Martens, a director on Marvel’s Netflix series Luke Cage, were other filmmakers mentioned on the studio’s meeting list. But Leitch’s name remained consistently on top of the list and the director met with Reynolds in New York on Thursday, according to sources.

Related: Petition Launched for Quentin Tarantino to Direct ‘Deadpool 2’

Other sources say it’s still too early to declare Leitch a frontrunner as other meetings are still taking place. No official offer has been made and no negotiations are under way.

Leitch is well-known in the action movie world and is partners with Chad Stahelski in the stunt company 87eleven. They worked as second-unit directors on action movies ranging from Ninja Assassin to Captain America: Civil War, and made their directorial debut with the well-regarded Keanu Reeves action movie John Wick.

Leitch did not direct the sequel to John Wick, but recently finished shooting The Coldest City, a Cold War thriller starring Charlize Theron.

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