In quite possibly the biggest film-related news story of the month, Disney confirmed earlier today that Joss Whedon would not only be directing and writing The Avengers’ sequel, but he will also be in charge of developing a live-action television series for ABC Studios. While not a lot of specifics are known at this time about either project, Marvel Studios did send a message out earlier this evening to clarify.
“Joss Whedon has signed an exclusive deal with Marvel Studios for film and television through the end of June 2015. As part of that deal, Whedon will write and direct Marvel’s The Avengers 2 as well as help develop a new live action series for Marvel Television at ABC. He will also contribute creatively to the next phase of Marvel’s cinematic universe.”
Now, what this means is that Thor: The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and even the long-gestating Ant-Man movie will have to pass across Whedon’s desk before getting the go ahead. If he does not believe something fits his Avengers live-action drama or film’s appropriately, he can nix the idea and this is a heap of power that the man did not have last time around.
It is safe to say now that while James Cameron can be identified with 100% Avatar, Joss Whedon is equally Avengers as this is an ‘exclusive deal.’ I wonder after hearing this if Christopher Nolan has second thoughts about saying no to the same position for Justice League…Probably not, but you know this will not be the last we hear about the Batman director getting in bed with Warner Bros.’s DC Comic properties especially considering he is producing Man of Steel.