Internet, rejoice! Joss Whedon provided a whopping jolt to the superhero genre with this year’s The Avengers by proving that “gritty and solemn” isn’t the only way to make a successful superhero movie, and now Marvel has officially signed Whedon to write and direct the film’s sequel. Whedon is the key creative force behind the brilliance that is The Avengers, so bringing him back for the inevitable The Avengers 2 was on the forefront of fans’ minds going forward; Matt even wrote an editorial arguing why it was crucial to re-hire Whedon. Hit the jump for more.
As recently as Comic-Con, Whedon had yet to come to a final decision regarding his involvement with The Avengers 2. Some in-depth negotiations likely took place (Whedon justly deserves a significant raise this time around), and the news that Whedon has signed to write and direct the sequel was announced on the Disney Investors Conference Call this afternoon (via Variety), along with the news that he’ll develop “a Marvel-themed TV show for ABC.” We recently heard that Marvel was developing a live-action drama series for ABC set in the Avengers universe, so it’s possible that this is the television show that Whedon will be developing.
This is great news not only for The Avengers 2, but for the upcoming Marvel slate of films. With Whedon firmly in place developing the film that will conclude Marvel’s “Phase 2,” the creative genius can provide some insight and thoughts on Captain America: Winter Soldier, Thor: The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, and possibly Ant-Man as they build to The Avengers 2. Details on the Avengers deal and subsequent TV show are scant at the moment, but let’s all let out an enormous sigh of relief knowing that Whedon is sticking with Marvel for the foreseeable future. The Avengers 2 doesn’t have an official release date as of yet, but it’s widely assumed that it’ll hit theaters sometime in 2015.
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Awesome, really happy Whedon will be returning. Avengers would have been half the film it was if he hadn’t been involved.
Amazing news.
After the insult that was TDKR, I was concerned that we may never get another comic movie as good as The Avengers.
This is a good day indeed…
Why do I feel like this isn’t the first time I’ve seen you trolling TDKR?
Because it isn’t. he is a Marvel d***rider
By “insult” do you mean “one of the greatest superhero movies ever made”?
you mean full of plot holes w/ and eye rolling ending and a travesty concerning the handling of a particular classic character(s)? and i’ve been reading batman since 1985 so don’t pull that marvelite shit on me…
@duh: no, i’m not gonna pull that marvelite shit . . .i will however point out the stupidity in attacking a movie with the exact same critiques as the movie it is being compared to. Plot holes + eye rolling ending? You mean the chitauhri all falling down like toy soldiers? Hell, i wanted my money back after that scene. . . . “But wait, i never said Avengers was better!” No, but you replied to someone who said it sucked compared to TDKR, thus implying you’re willing to forgive plot holes & cringe worthy moments in one film, but draw the line at another’s. And PS: Avengers was one of the first comics i ever read . . . .and that ending made me want to go and watch the JLU cartoon just to get that bad taste out of my mouth.
@Griz beautiful DC dick riding, man…
@Fred: Always nice when someone complements my dick
So the Chitauri dying was less believable for you than Bruce Wayne suffering from a dislocated/broken spinal injury is cured and nursed back to health and becomes strong enough to climb out of that prison? I doubt he had the nutrition to even get him back into shape I mean whose feeding them? Had Bane been smart he would of completely severed his spine and made Bruce a quadriplegic then afterwards parade him around Gotham as his trophy. Perhaps I would of took Bane more seriously then.
Then Batman returns to Gotham and takes his sweet time painting a giant firebat to let all his enemies know he’s returned, thus rendering any chance of a stealthy attack. What if Bane saw that and blew up the city? Oh right, he’s not even the villain, he’s just a lackey and to top it all off, he gets killed like one. Talk about wanting to walk out of the theater..
So the Chitauri dying was less believable for you than Bruce Wayne suffering from a dislocated/broken spinal injury is cured and nursed back to health and becomes strong enough to climb out of that prison? I doubt he had the nutrition to even get him back into shape I mean whose feeding them? Had Bane been smart he would of completely severed his spine and made Bruce a quadriplegic then afterwards parade him around Gotham as his trophy. Perhaps I would of took Bane more seriously then.
Then Batman returns to Gotham and takes his sweet time painting a giant firebat to let all his enemies know he’s returned, thus rendering any chance of a stealthy attack. What if Bane saw that and blew up the city? Oh right, he’s not even the villain, he’s just a lackey and to top it all off, he gets killed like one. Talk about wanting to walk out of the theater..
@airstrike I’m a big fan of both but Avengers have just as many unbelievable plot holes and more if you include all the films leading up to Avengers. So just stop with the nitpicking already
haha u mad that it took marvel 6 big characters to match the success of one dc superhero? lol what a loser
Match? Last I checked Avengers outperformed both the recent Batman films.
He’s just mad there will never be a Justice League movie.
lol ye u mad. it may have outperformed them but not blown away. u just mad that nolan’s batman movies are critically acclaimed and are actually good movies with a good story and depth. unlike marvel’s movies which are better suited for a younger audience.
No reason to be mad, DC fans deserve nice things too. After all they will have so few of them in the future.
A collective sigh of relief indeed, this is a most joyous report! Kill the fatted calf and bring on the strong drink, Whedon has returned!!!
Great! More plotholes and mindless dialogue!
I thought they were going to get a REAL director this time with cinematic style but no.
They did, and I’m sure he’s STRONG ENOUGH for the job.
Because you always firmly have your dick planted in Nolan’s ass “Strong” i can only assume you are comparing Joss to NOlan. Nolan whose films all feel the same, sound the same, have the same types of plotholes that usually try and trick a viewer that he is more than popcorn that just isnt true and also includes mindless dialogue… i also could also assume you came all over yourself watching batman but would take “I havent given them everything not yet” or “my mother told me to never get into cars with strange men”-”this isnt a car” over anything that was said in Avengers is kinda laughable. Also your cop out argument on the end of avengers was what left you with a bad taste but batman SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER dying BUT OH WAIT LETS BEND THE MASSES and not actually have him die..wasnt a copout ending? Nolan fans (Which i actually am a fan of) look sneeringly upon teh Marvel Fair that they call POPCORN…but never actually see that the Gritty Wide Shots of a nolan is just a mask that tricks us to see past the popcorn and cheese of his films.
Following, Memento, Insomnia, The Prestige, and Inception.
What do all of these films have in common? Nolan-directed, non-Batman, and not “popcorn” or “cheese.”
@Thundersaursrex Going to have to disagree with you there. All of Nolans film do not have the same feel. Batman Begins, DK and DKR are all different from each other. In my opinion.
Let me get this straight, just to be clear. Not only are we getting a Joss Whedon-directed sequel to The Avengers, but we’re also getting a Whedon-devised TV series out of the deal? AWE. SOME.
Yes, because all successful superhero movies before The Avengers were “gritty and solemn”. Oh wait…
Yeah, let’s bash Nolan and worship the “creative genius” Whedon. I like Whedon but reading this, I was like “Huh?”
I was not reading it as a bash on Nolan, only that it seemed like a lot of the superhero films that have been put into development since the huge success of The Dark Knight have been trying to be more realistic and edgy where The Avengers went in a different direction and showed that it can work.
I can’t help but wonder if this TV show he’s working on is the Hulk TV series with Guillermo del Toro . I mean, how awesome would that be? Del Toro and Whedon working together on a Hulk TV series?
The universe wouldn’t be able to hold such an awesome team-up.
I guess this is good news. Hopefully, he takes it easy on the comedy this time around. Maybe there won’t be any “Cap-sicle” lines.
you mean full of plot holes w/ an eye rolling ending and a travesty concerning the handling of a particular classic character(s)? and i’ve been reading batman since 1985 so don’t pull that marvelite shit on me…
^^ sorry that posted outside of the comment that i was replying too for some reason…
Sooo excited about this news on Whedon’s involvement with The Avengers sequel. Also VERY excited that he’ll be co-starring as an actor in “Husbands” The Series – a series by Jane Espenson and Brad Bell – beginning August 15th at lovehusbands.com – It’ll be his largest acting role to date! Whedon plays Brady’s sports agent in all of the Season Two episodes. I’m hearing that he did a fantastic job in the role!
Now if that wasn’t a marketing plug I don’t know what is…
Ah yes! The die is cast. It begins anew.
I’m a happy man.
Great news! Looking forward to it, I really enjoyed the first one and Whedon did a great job.
This is great news to hear without saying, Josh Whedon did a masterful job in creating what i believe is the best comic book film made yet. After the massive record breaking success “The Avengers” was, he just had to be back in the directors chair for the sequel. Now the next step is for Marvel Studios to lock him in for “Avengers 3″, than you can ride off in the sunset, haha. If they’re smart they should be trying to sign him to direct “Avengers 3″ as soon as possible and not wait a few years down the line trying to negotiate, congrats to all involved. “The Avengers is not finished yet, between domestic box office numbers, remaining overseas numbers and opening in Japan next week, another 100+million worldwide could be in store.
I like Whedon and am glad he’s onboard for the sequel, but when he lacks confidence in his own writing he resorts to way too much ironic winking at the audience. May Kevin Feige wack him upside the head whenever he displays that weakness.
This comments section = why the internet has doomed us as a species. I’d love for Collider to take commenting away.
Why people still bring TDK to these Marvel posts? They are completely different,stop comparing.
Anyway,great news. If Whedon makes the sequel more personal and different than the first one,even better.
Would be awesome if they added Spiderman this time.
Definitely better than adding The Tick or Ant Man, whoever he is.
2016. 2015 is to early. This is GREAT news, but I would like to see a Black Panther, Dr. Strange, HULK 2, sm type of shield/nick fury/hawkeye/black widow film before AVENGERS 2. In addition to IM3, T2TDW, CAWS, ANT MAN, & Guardians of the Galaxy.
This is truly amazing news. I’m so happy that Joss is returning. Great news for Marvel’s Phase 2. Also for a TV show? Where Joss excels even higher? Couldn’t be anymore happy right now. Also, people needa stop ripping on The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers in random post. It’s just not need and disrespectful. I loved both movies and both rank among my favorites, though I am not gonna lie The Avengers is my favorite movie tied with the original, The Dark Knight.
I also think The Avengers should come out in 2016 but is prob not. I would like instead of Guardains in 2014 make it Ant-Man, then in 2015 due Black Panther. Then also in 2015 due Guardians of the Galaxy. Then in 2016 finally, The Avengers 2!!!
What’s gonna most likely happen is Captain America 2 in 2014, then Ant-Man in 2014 and Guardians in 2014. Then in 2015 The Avengers. While this is still really epic and awesome, I miss Black Panther from the group because he was one of the originals. There gonna for sure just try to replace him with Falcon in The Avengers 2 since he’s gonna be in Captain America which I’m not to mad at cause I think they can make a cool Falcon, especially with Anthony Mackie playing him.
As I have been saying, here’s hoping the ABC “Marvel based” series Joss is working on turns out to be AKA Jessica Jones, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar as the lead. Gellar/Whedon reunion in the Marvel universe? How can you beat that?
cha-ching.
EXCELSIOR! I was hoping he’d at least write the script, but we got the whole package! @ V, a Jessica Jones series is such a stellar idea. Joss Whedon has always had a knack for writing strong, complex, heroic and endearing female characters who you can’t help but have a crush on. Plus, the window would be open to introduce Luke Cage, Iron Fist or (*GASP*) Daredevil. “PHASE 2″ is off to a hot start!
ugh, may all you annoying fanboys suffer under your inflicted virginity.