You can all rest easy now Avengers fans, our beloved franchise is in good hands. I certainly let out a sigh of relief when I heard that Marvel had finally given the task of writing and directing the sequel to The Avengers to Joss Whedon. I mean, he did create the summer’s biggest blockbuster which made 1.5 billion dollars worldwide (he’s also responsible for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, The Cabin in the Woods… you get the picture) It’s only right that he is the one to continue the story, especially when he did such an amazing job the first time. Here’s the official statement from Marvel reported by Variety:
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.
The most important thing in that quote is that Joss Whedon will not only be writing and directing The Avengers 2, but will be contributing to the next ”phase” of Marvel’s cinema. I’m hoping that means that he’ll have creative input on the next few movies, which at this point includes Iron Man 3 (due May 3, 2013), Thor: The Dark World (November 8, 2013), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (April 4, 2014), Guardians of the Galaxy (August 1, 2014), and the Ant-Man movie. With Joss Whedon involved, I know that all of these movies will be awesome. Before this announcement, Whedon was a little unsure about returning to the franchise saying (via /Film), ”It’s an enormous amount of work telling what is ultimately somebody else’s story, even though I feel like I did get to put myself into it. But at the same time, I have a bunch of ideas, and they all seem really cool.” His awesome ideas are sure to include stuff that will make comic book fans squeal with delight.
Whedon’s approach to the next Avengers was talked about even before he had signed on to make it happen. He spoke with SFX about how to avoid the curse of the bad second movie: “By not trying to [go bigger]. By being smaller. More personal, more painful. By being the next thing that should happen to these characters, and not just a rehash of what seemed to work the first time. By having a theme that is completely fresh and organic to itself.” Hopefully that sage advise still applies, because it will amount to a great time on the big screen. Joss Whedon represents fan boys and girls everywhere, and has their best interests at heart. His goals for The Avengers sequel read like my own personal wish for the series. In the interview he goes on to talk about the cast of characters saying, “I want to know what makes them tick, what makes them flawed, what makes them fight – and ultimately, what makes them awesome. I go to these movies for those moments when the heroes define themselves, either through action or deliciously overwritten speeches.” All I can say is, thank God for Joss Whedon.
But Joss isn’t the only one in the equation for an awesome superhero sequel. Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel studios, was asked at this year’s Comic-Con if we can expect to see new characters in the Avenger’s line-up. His response:
Absolutely. That’s the fun of it — introducing new characters,” said Feige when asked point blank whether fans should expect a change-up to the roster. Seeing: ‘How will things change after Iron Man goes through his next adventure? After Thor goes through his next adventure? If we do another Cap adventure, how will things change? The dynamic between them? Their own worlds? So that the dynamic in Avengers 2 is actually quite different than it is in the first one.
I for one am hoping to at least see Ant-Man join the ranks, which is probably going to happen since he’s getting his very own Marvel movie. But it would also be cool to see some people like Spider-man, Wolverine, and the Wasp in the mix (all have been featured in the comics for The Avengers at one point in time). One character I want to see a bit more of is Hawkeye. Watching all the trailers for The Bourne Legacy has given me a bit of a Jeremy Renner obsession at the moment. I enjoyed seeing him as Clint Barton (Hawkeye’s real name), but he’s not in a lot of the movie. Along with Scarlett Johannson’s Black Widow, they make up the “we don’t have our own solo movies” part of the team. But that can change as Marvel develops more projects with their bankable stars. One thing is certain though and that is when you have Joss Whedon looking over your future there is sure to be a lot of awesomeness in those movie reels. The Avengers 2 probably won’t be coming out until 2015, but that can’t come soon enough.
What do you guys think about Joss Whedon’s new job as writer and director of The Avengers 2? What different characters do you hope to see in the sequel?
Loading ...