Marvel fans can breath a sigh of relief, Joss Whedon is coming back to the Marvel universe. Slashfilm is reporting that the writer/director has been signed on to perform the same duties for the anticipated sequel to the 3rd highest grossing film of all time, The Avengers. Marvel has also released a statement confirming that Whedon will be involved in helping develop a new live action series for Marvel Television at ABC. Whedon has previously expressed doubts about returning to the franchise citing the amount of work associated with telling someone else’s story, but has signed on for a much more expanded role within the Marvel franchises.
This is good news for Marvel and their fans. Not only are they keeping the creative force behind the 3rd highest grossing film of all time, but are gaining the mind of someone who is great at long form story telling (see Buffy the Vampire Slayer). It also wouldn’t surprise me if Marvel added him to the brain trust, a la Pixar, to keep him roped in.
The Avengers 2 doesn’t have a start date, but it is speculated that the film will commence in April 2014 to be ready for a summer 2015 release.
Marvel has released the following statement: “Joss Whedon has signed an exclusive deal with Marvel Studios for film and television through the end of June 2015. As part of that deal, Whedon will write and direct Marvel’s The Avengers 2 as well as help develop a new live action series for Marvel Television at ABC. He will also contribute creatively to the next phase of Marvel’s cinematic universe.”
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Tags: Entertainment/Culture, Joss Whedon, Marvel, Marvel Studios, Marvel's The Avengers, news, the avengers, The Avengers 2
2 Comments












Welcome, if expected, news…
Joey Magidson(Quote) (Reply)
I’m conflicted about this. On the one hand it’s nice to see one of the major reasons for how well The Avengers turned out returning for its inevitable sequel. I’m also intrigued by the idea of a TV series and I’m a little surprised such a project hasn’t been attempted more often what with TV kicking the film industry’s ass these days.
Then again, Terence’s accurate mention of the director’s gift at “long-form storytelling” is both a gift and a plague, as the increasing serialization of franchise pictures has been horrifying to me. Please, Mr. Whedon, don’t contribute to the slow death of standalone movies.
Robert Hamer(Quote) (Reply)