When IESB first reported on April 1 that Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon was on the short list of directors being considered for the Avengers film, a lot of people dismissed this news as an April Fool’s prank.
Whedon, a man known more for his writing then his directing, was reportedly being considered for a job that would require him to combine a collection of Marvel’s most popular heroes for one movie. The Avengers director would be responsible for working with actors such as Robert Downey Jr., Edward Norton (presuming he chooses to work with Marvel again) and Chris Evans — balancing the stories of characters such as Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor and Captain America.
Not that Whedon wouldn’t be up for the job — besides directing Serenity, the big screen adaptation of his show Firefly, the filmmaker has been responsible for some pretty stirring episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly. He has also directed an episode of The Office and will direct an episode of Glee scheduled to air later this spring.
Whedon has also written several comic book series for Marvel and wrote largely unused scripts for a pre-Jon Favreau Iron Man movie and the first X-Men movie.
That said, the news Whedon was being considered for the Avengers director’s chair just seemed a bit far fetched — especially when other, more established action film directors such as Louis Leterrier have publicly talked about their desire to work on the picture.
Well, the Los Angeles Times has done a little digging and it seems that yes, talks between Whedon and Marvel Studios have taken place but nothing has been signed yet.
The Buzz: A Joss Whedon directed Avengers movie could be interesting. On Marvel’s part, it’s a huge step towards keeping the budget down on the picture. Since Whedon has yet to make his name as a big-shot film director, one would think his salary would be a little less then the Louis Leterriers of the world.
Likewise, the geek cred that would come with hiring Whedon as the director of Avengers would be massive. Whedon’s fans are large in number and their excitement would go a long way towards building buzz for the film among non-superhero loving geeks.
Not that the movie would need a lot of buzz built. The Avengers film would be coming off of a series of summers where its characters have all had their chance to shine on the big screen. The film will literally be the biggest superhero film ever attempted. I have to love the balls on Marvel for being willing to consider Whedon for this job.
Sound off: What say you? Are you interested in seeing Joss Whedon take the reigns on Marvel’s biggest film franchise? If not, what other director would you like to see step into the ring?
