Earlier today Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon did an interview with Entertainment Weekly and Lost creator J.J. Abrams, and during which he dropped this bit of knowledge onto our brains.
“That is not an official thing. But I’m making that an official thing: I’m directing The Avengers.”
Whedon has been unofficially attached to the movie for a few months, and it’s gotten to the point where many don’t even talk like it was unofficial. Now it’s just cementing a deal that we were already settled into the notion of.