The sequel to this year's massively successful superhero team-up movie The Avengers is in good hands. The same hands, actually: Joss Whedon, the man behind Marvel's hit flick, will write and direct the follow-up.
News of the sequel, which will probably be called The Avengers 2 (or maybe Avengers: Be Ready to Crap Your Pants This Time), came Tuesday from Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger during a financial-earnings conference call, Variety reported.
The Mouse House chief also revealed that Whedon will create a Marvel-themed TV show to air on ABC and, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the company has plans to "leverage the power of the Avengers" throughout Disney.
Marvel confirmed the news in a statement sent to Wired: "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."
Knowing that the Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator will continue to lend his magic touch to Marvel Studios properties is very, very cool news. Few if any filmmakers can match Whedon's wit and abiding love of genre writing, a combustible mix that fueled The Avengers' incredible critical and commercial success. His deft touch with dialog, and his deep knowledge of comics, bode well for projects on Marvel's production slate.
Just last month at Comic-Con International in San Diego, all the buzz coming from the Marvel cinematic universe was about the forthcoming Iron Man 3. During that film's panel, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige revealed details about Phase Two of Marvel's movie master plan, confirming the directors and release dates for Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Feige also confirmed the rumored Guardians of the Galaxy movie, but didn't offer any specifics on the sequel to The Avengers, which brought in more than $200 million in its opening weekend and has grossed nearly $1.5 billion at box offices worldwide.
