Joss Whedon In Final Negotiations To Direct The Avengers
On April Fool’s Day,IESBhad the bad timing to report thatJoss Whedonwas on the shortlist to directThe Avengersfor Marvel. Really bad timing for that scoop — while Whedon is the sort of guy a lot of fans would like to see on this film, there was too much reason to be skeptical when it ran on April 1. TheLA Timesconfirmed that shortlist a few days later, but even then it was tough to tell if the studio was serious, or just spitballing in the same way it seemed to do with theCaptain Americacasting.
Either way, things are evidently serious now, as there’s a report that Whedon is in final talks to direct the film.
Deadlinehas a piece on the deal, but doesn’t offer any more info.
Whedon is a ballsy choice, but will the identity of the director really matter from the perspective of the mainstream? Probably not. A great many people won’t think ‘this movie is from the guy behindBuffyandFireflyand that movieSerenity.’ They’ll hopefully think, ‘holy shit, this movie has Iron Man and ThorandCaptain America? I’m so in!’ Making the film look like a good prospect has a lot more to do with the success ofThorandCaptain Americathan it does the choice of director.
Making it agoodmovie — that’s a different story. While Whedon has his shortcomings, there will be serious editorial oversight from Kevin Feige, Jon Favreau and others at Marvel. Furthermore, I think Whedon managedSerenityreally well. That film was made on a relatively small budget, had many characters and a couple solid setpieces, and, in general, it worked. I came into it not having seen moment one ofFireflyand the film turned me on to the series. I can see him going to town withThe Avengers.
