Joss Whedon confirms he'll direct "The Avengers"
By Peter SmithJuly 23rd, 2010, 12:00 pmComments (12)Uniting a bunch of super-profitable nerdy properties (Iron Man, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, etc), the upcoming superhero-team movie The Avengers surely represents the apex of fanboy fantasy, the ultimate triumph of geek culture, the climax of a twenty-year journey from margin to mainstream. (Please check out this clip from the 1994 direct-to-video Fantastic Four movie for a reminder of just how much respect these franchises used to get.) Thus, it's fitting that Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon — both the subject of massive fanboyism and a massive fanboy himself — is signing on as director, as he just confirmed at Comic-Con.
Assuming you're not neck-deep in fan culture, but just like big pop action movies that don't suck, is this good news? I'm going to say yes. Whedon's a good choice for a story about a team. He loves group dynamics (see the late, lamented Firefly), so The Avengers plays to his strengths. It might also play to some of his weaknesses, specifically a corny streak and the tendency to make all his bickering characters sound like Joss Whedon — but then, that latter fault could be mitigated by a cast of charismatic actors that already includes Robert Downey, Jr. and Samuel L. Jackson, two outsized personalities who'd be hard to flatten out. (Of course, one outsized personality has already gotten the boot.) Regardless, there's still plenty of time for speculation; The Avengers won't come out until May 2012.
Commentarium (12 Comments)
i still don't get the whole josh whedon thing, and i'm not sure if i will ever want to get it... sounds time-comsuming!
Sigh... love Firefly.
@noodles He had some good TV shows that most people enjoy and many obsess over.
Can someone properly explain to me the Whedon-verse fandom that exists? Why is it so much more intense than other directors and writers? Also, is this fandom comprised of a specific demo? Teen girls? Tech guys? Comic nerds?
Buffy and Firefly are the main two, I think. Buffy because it is a pretty fantastic series that dealt with sex and growing up and stuff well using a fun, campy fantasy setting. Firefly I have not seen, but I've heard that it is a significant show for both the science fiction and western crowds, and FOX canceled it too quickly.
I think Whedon fandom is intensified by his own fannishness. It's the "one of us!" thing. He also likes writing "ass-kicking girl" type characters (and in a less slavering way than a lot of geek writers) and I think that probably draws more fans across gender.
YAAAAYYY!!!!
<3 let us not forget Dollhouse. He should make a movie from that. It would be intense
The Whedonverse is populated with smart, funny, capable, deep characters. That's why I like him. The jokes aren't telegraphed, the dialog is snappy, and the characters are loveable for their imperfections. I just hope he's writing as well as directing.
My porlebm was a wall until I read this, then I smashed it.
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