In news that will no doubt delight Disney executives, Joss Whedon has signed on to direct the sequel to Marvel's huge grossing 'The Avengers' movie. The filmmaker seemed undecided about a return when speaking to an audience at Comic-Con last month, though has now officially signed on, reports Bbc News.
The film is scheduled for release in 2015, though Whedon is reportedly also helping to develop a live-action television series featuring Marvel characters. In a statement, the studio said, "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". Joss Whedon's Avengers movie - known as 'Avengers Assemble' in the Uk - was a worldwide hit and is likely to be the biggest film of 2012. It became the third top grossing film ever, taking a massive $1.4 billion at the box office. Ahead of 'The Avengers 2', a slew of other sequels featuring superhero characters will be released, including 'Iron Man 3' with Robert Downey Jr and 'Thor: The Dark World' featuring Chris Hemsworth. Chris Evans' 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' will follow in April 2014. Scarlett Johansson has spoken of her desire to make a Black Widow spin-off movie, though it's unclear whether this will get the green-light.
Joss Whedon first rose to prominence after penning the script for Toy Story in 1995, going on to create Buffy The Vampire Slayer and the spin-off 'Angel'. He recently completed work on a big-screen adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy 'Much Ado About Nothing'.