Okay, no need to panic yet, but despite being a $1 Billion+ success in the box office and receiving high praise all across the board, Joss Whedon is “torn” about returning for another go with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
“You know, I’m very torn,” Whedon said in a sit-down interview in Beverly Hills before the film’s U.S. opening. “It’s an enormous amount of work telling what is ultimately somebody else’s story, even though I feel like I did get to put myself into it. But at the same time, I have a bunch of ideas, and they all seem really cool.”
I mentioned on the latest Big Shiny Podcast that my excitement level for an Avengers sequel is going to be directly tied to whether or not Joss Whedon directs it. Are there other capable directors out there that could take on such a film? Sure. But Whedon has set the bar so damn high, the only person I could envision once again meeting this level of awesome, or even exceeding it, is Joss Whedon.
That said, we are still at least three years away from a sequel to The Avengers, and the film has only been out in the states for two weeks with many fans returning for second, third and fourth viewings. The excitement is still there so it may be too soon to start talking – or worrying – about what will come in the sequel. Not to mention we have a ton of Marvel movies coming at us between now and then with Iron Man 3, Thor 2, and Captain America 2 all ready to get rolling.
So, yes, the mere thought of Joss Whedon not coming back to direct the sequel to The Avengers is a sad one. But for right now lets continue to enjoy the Avengers movie he has given us, in all its glory! I think I may have enjoyed The Avengers even more on my second viewing than the first, and I plan to see it at least one more time before it leaves theaters. I’m sure as we move forward over the next few years, Whedon will have a better idea if he would like to return to direct a sequel, but I’m guessing for right now he is probably still reeling from the monster success of this first Avengers film and Summer of 2015 is pretty far off in his mind.
Should Joss Whedon not return to direct a sequel (GASP!), who do you think could bring us a worthy follow-up to The Avengers?
Sound off in the comments below!