Very good news today for Joss Whedon fans, and indeed for anyone who enjoys quality genre entertainment: he’s in final negotiations to tackle The Avengers for Marvel Studios.
He’s been rumoured for the job for a while now, but it appears that Marvel was taking its time to think over its options before finally settling on the final choice.
The Avengers will see a line-up that includes Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) teaming up to fight a big threat. Whether that turns out to be The Hulk, and whether Edward Norton is asked to sign on or even agrees, is another matter.
Whedon, of course, has written for Marvel Comics in the past (he penned some amazing issues of the Brian K Vaughn-created Runaways series, as well as working on an Astonishing X-Men run) and has the right sort of character-focused sensibility to make what should be a fun blockbuster fly.
Before the Whedon haters start calling for blood and moaning that he usually works in telly and that the only film he’s ever made is Serenity, we say: but Serenity was great. And the vast majority of his TV work is fantastic too. He’s directed some of the best episodes of all his shows, including Buffy’s Once More With Feeling and Hush. And let’s not forget Dr Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog.
And the Marvel team – which has already brought us the two Iron Man films and The Incredible Hulk – knows how to blend the right man for the right job, so we’ve got faith they know what they’re doing.
And when will it start shooting? Not yet: it's slated for a May 2012 release date, and Evans hasn't even started work on The First Avenger: Captain America yet...