Here's a brief bit of news that's sure to bring inspire a grin among fans of The Avengers: Joss Whedon will return to write and direct its sequel, Disney has confirmed.
Update: Marvel has released a statement, confirming Whedon's involvement in both The Avengers 2 and an ABC TV series:
"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 news came as part of Disney boss Bob Iger's earnings call to analysts. The Avengers earned around $1.5 billion, making it one of the top three biggest-grossing movies of all time. It's unsurprising, then, that Disney would want Whedon back, but it's a relief to hear that he's accepted; although doing another Avengers might sound like a logical career move for Marvel fans, Whedon was ambivalent about the prospect a few months ago, and appeared to be more keen to persue other projects.
Returning for a second Avengers, he said in an LA Times interview back in May, was "an enormous amount of work telling what is ultimately somebody else's story". Happily, Whedon's changed his mind.
The news that Whedon will be involved in an Avengers TV series is good news, too, particularly given his sparkling form with such shows as Buffy and Firefly. We're assuming this is the same series "set in the Avengers universe" rumoured a few months ago, but this isn't confirmed as yet.
For now, though, it's official: Whedon's on board for The Avengers 2, and the movie's pencilled in for a 2015 release.
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