Deadpool 2 starring Ryan Reynolds begins filming in Vancouver in February 2017

Production on the sequel to last year’s highly successful Deadpool movie is scheduled to begin early next year.

According to What’s Filming, a website on the local film and entertainment industry, 20th Century Fox is proceeding with filming Deadpool 2 in Vancouver beginning in February 2017. Vancouver native Ryan Reynolds is set to reprise his starring role as the antihero, but both director Tim Miller and composer Tom Holkenberg (aka Junkie XL) are no longer involved in the project due to irreconcilable differences with the writers and lead actor over the creative direction and casting.

Deadpool, which was released in time for Valentine’s Day earlier this year and was critically lauded, quickly became the highest grossing R-rated film of all time earlier this year with a total global haul of $782.6 million – more than 13 times its slim $58-million budget. It surpassed the previous record of $742 million set by 2003’s The Matrix Reloaded.

The movie was filmed in Vancouver and involved the two-week closure of the Georgia Viaduct in downtown Vancouver for the completion of a major road chase and fighting sequence. Throughout its 58-day production in BC, the film’s activity boosted the local economy by an estimated $40 million and employed 2,000 local cast, crew, and extras who earned $19 million.

Other recent productions in the city include Star Trek Beyond, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and Power Rangers. 2015 eventually grew to be a record year for Vancouver’s film and television production industry.

Editor’s Note: The original article said that filming would begin in January 2017. Since publishing, we have learned that filming is projected to begin at the end of February 2017, at the earliest.