Joss Whedon has been talking about two new possible Avengers for Avengers 2, namely the brother-sister duo Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver (who Fox has snuck into **X-Men: Days Of Future Past), but he hasn't said all that much about the villain. Credit sting aficionados presume it will be Thanos, and that seems to be a reasonably safe bet, but only Joss really knows...
In the upcoming issue of Empire - which hits shelves on Thursday, May 30, boasting The Wolverine on the front cover - Joss Whedon talks to us about his immediate follow-up to The Avengers, Much Ado About Nothing, as well as coping with his newfound super-success and a little movie called** Star Wars: Episode VII**.
Below are his words on Thanos the as-yet-unannounced villain for the Avengers sequel, followed by how Mr. Whedon felt about turning down The Force.
How are you going to avoid the usual sequel pitfalls? Often they become all about the villain at the expense of the stars.
"Yes, that always makes me cranky. I'm very excited about the villain, and have a lot to say about him. But if you watch my shows, the one thing I've never been very good at is guest stars, because I've always been interested in the ensemble. With The Avengers, I'm still most fascinated by them."
(If you're incredibly keen on this sort of thing, you'll have noticed Joss says "him" there, which means the villain is not female. In fact, it's most likely to be male.)
"The other thing is, you don't try to top it," Whedon adds. "I know I will never make a moment as pleasing in a film as Hulk and Loki. You can't chase that dragon. If you try to do exactly the same thing, the chances you're going to do it better are very slim, and the only reason for me to devote three years to making another Avengers movie is the hope of making a better one."
And what about Star Wars? Have you felt a pang of disappointment about not directing that?
"There was a moment of rue that I was already committed, I'm not going to lie, because who didn't want to do that as a kid? But I think they got the right guy so just knowing that I'm going to enjoy the film when it comes out is great. I don't even have to do any work. Can J.J. also make Avengers...?"
The new issue of** Empire is out on Thursday, May 30, while Much Ado About Nothing is out on June 14. **Avengers 2 **is pencilled in for a May 1, 2015 release.