Image Credit: Albert L. Ortega/PR Photos; Marvel EntertainmentFriends, Romans, Countrygeeks, lend me your ears! Deadline brings us news that Joss Whedon is thisclose to directing the upcoming Avengers adaptation, the mega-sequel-spinoff that will bring together Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and more Marvel superheroes. PopWatchers, I’m dying. I’m on the floor, choking on happiness, while my brain is simultaneously imploding and exploding with disbelief and rapture.
Marvel is not commenting on this news, but if there’s even a ring of truth here, that’s cause for rejoicing across the globe. I had, frankly, been a bit worried about the Avengers movie. Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man is a more-than-proven quantity, but we’re still a year away from seeing Chris Evans as Captain America and Chris Hemsworth as Thor. And balancing so many big personalities in the same movie, while also making time for beloved B-players (Hi, Hawkeye!), would take a very particular kind of a director: A fizzy-dialogue-writing, massive-cast-juggling, funny-sad-thrilling-terrifying-singing-dancing filmmaker genius.
Enter Joss Whedon, who excels at all that and more. PopWatchers, are you as excited as I am by the news that the Buffy/Firefly/Dollhouse/Dr. Horrible maestro might be taking hold of Marvel’s superteam? Aren’t the casting possibilities just endless? I see Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz playing married superheroes Wasp and Ant Man, and Anthony Stewart Head playing the Avengers’ butler Jarvis, and Nathan Fillion playing Hawkeye…
So they’ll fight Bad Horse and the Evil League of Evil?
Uh, Darren Franich…if the script includes Hulk (as it currently does), this is going to be an Avengers origin movie, and Hawkeye didn’t come along until years later.
If this an origin story, then it wouldn’t accurately involve Captain America either. So Hawkeye could be feasible, especially as an agent already working with Nick Fury (who also wasn’t connected to the origin of the Avengers, BTW).
It’s going to be based on “The Ultimates”, Mark Millar’s Avengers reboot, which features Fury, Hulk, and Hawkeye.
Yeah, just like Spider-Man was an origin movie and featured the Chameleon and the Fantastic Four, and X-Men was an origin movie and featured Angel and Beast, and how the Daredevil movie didn’t have Elektra, Bullseye and Kingpin because they didn’t show up until years later. Your post makes perfect sense.
Also, issue 16 doesn’t really qualify as “years later”.
To be fair, 16 issues would span over one year… more than one deserves a plural.
“Years later” could mean in people years not the “time stands still” comic book years.
Oh my god…do you guys get LAID?
LMAO, thank you Jay.
C’mon. As we’ve seen over the years, the Marvel Mythology is just a starting point for Hollywood. It doesn’t matter at all. They pick and choose and comics history be damned.
I have to agree with MB, CB Movies are no different than CB TV shows, they are just another outlet for reinterpretation, obviously certain things need to stay the same, but obsessively scrutinizing inconsistencies just screams “I am a virgin and will die as such!” Oh yes, and keep in mind that Hawkeye made an appearance in Thor, a fact which I noticed on the spot, and if you didn’t well all I can say is that you certainly don’t have much of a mountain to preach from.
Bad Horse? The Thoroughbred of Sin?
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Wow. This is supposed to be news that would enrapture the masses? Is this gonna be an aimless comedy film, with bad one-lines and lame pop culture winks? Because that’s what Whedon excels at.
Serenity was a disjointed mess.
That flopped.
I am praying that this goes the way of the Wonder-Woman-By-Whedon film.
And I’m hoping that YOU go away…
What movie were you watching? Serenity was pure genius. As was the show Firefly. Get a clue, and some taste.
Serenity & the Firefly tv series were all awesome, as is Castle (admittedly full of bad puns) & Buffy & everything else I’ve seen so far…
To say serenity flopped is exaggeration. It had an extremely small budget for a futuristic action film (under $30 million) and recouped it. Throw in DVD and Bluray sales and it clearly came out in the black.
That being said, Angel, Buffy, and Fifefly were all great shows with great concepts. Anyone who doubts Whedon’s prowess as a writer or director should consult episodes from the multitude of the above-named shows which he wrote and directed.
According to BOX OFFICE MOJO and VARIETY.com, Serenity had a budget of 40 million dollars, and it grossed 39 million worldwide. Add in marketing and distribotion costs, then subtract the chunk of change theatres keep, and you have a film that lost money. And don’t start on DVD sales because they were never huge. The reality is that the TV shown bombed, the film flopped and the “franchise” was DOA. And yes, it was a horrible, disjointed mess full of bad puns and ScyFy-level special effects. But clearly, Browncoats will never admit to their God’s failures.
@Terry Salas – Just because they weren’t “blockbusters” doesn’t mean that they didn’t have a loyal following of fans who enjoyed them. I for one adored Firefly, and was terribly sad when it was cancelled. In the entertainment world, quantity seems to be valued over quality, which is something you’ve apparently bought into. I’m sorry you’re not a fan, but don’t assume that those of us who are fans are just following the herd.
But the thing with Serenity is that it was neither quality nor quantity. It is oneof those sloppy, mediocre films that disappear from theatres 3 weeks after opening, an nobody but a very small niche care for.
Seriously, Whedonites need to accept that Joss in overrated. This news has me worried more than anything else :S
I know tons of people who have copies of Serenity (myself included). I’d say that of the couple dozen people who’s DVD collections I’m familiar with, 75% of them own the movie, and at least 90% of those also own the series.
I don’t think I know anyone in the real world who doesn’t enjoy the show. Now, I’m not saying there aren’t people who don’t enjoy it, but anyone I’ve ever watched an episode with has gotten a kick out of it. I’ve probably sold a dozen copies of the series myself.
Oh Terry, you are the raging success in your life, so its cool that you have an opinion to which we should listen. Hurrah to Terry Salas, aka, THE MEDIOCRE ONE. No success was too possible (or ever possible), no victory ever achieved (really, ask his weeping mother) that old TS didn’t have a hand in watching as it went BUH-BYE!
Whedon has written great shows involving teenagers and a so-so scifi show followed by a so-so scifi movie. Marvel should really be looking at Jon Favreau to direct “Avengers” (which will NOT be based on the “Ultimates” storyline).
You are an evil, evil person.
I guess I don’t run in geek circles, because I don’t know a single person who even knows what Serenity or Firefly is. So there. Anecdotal evidence is always fun, and depends of who you hang out with. I’m sure that if I were a comic book/sci-fi fan, I would have lots more people who were aware of SereniFly. But the facts are that the TV show tanked, the film tanked, and the majority of people and moviegoers in this country have no clue about either, and they don’t even know who Whedon is. And in my opinion, they aren’t missing a lot.
Anna – glad to hear that you enjoyed the Twilight movies.
Terry Salas wants Spielberg to direct from a script by Lucas.
Okay:
Worldwide box office was 38.8 million off a 39 million budget. Serenity quickly rose to number one in Amazon DVD sales, spent two weeks in Billboard’s top ten in DVD sales, peaking at #3. It grossed just about 9 million in DVD sales alone. (source: Wikipedia)
Endorsed by: Orson Scott Card, SF Chronicle, 81% Rotten Tomatoes rating.
Awards: Rotten Tomatoes, IGN, Nebula, FilmFocus, and a Hugo.
If you found Firefly muddled, you probably saw it in broadcast, when Fox managed to broadcast every episode out of order.
Oh, and failed as a series? Fox put it on Friday nights. Virtually no series succeeds with that placement. Its ratings and longevity have absolutely nothing to do with its content, and everything to do with its network.
The fact that Fox cancelled Firefly should be a sign of its brilliance. Giving awesome shows an untimely demise is pretty much Fox’s MO. Ever heard of Arrested Development, Futurama, or Family Guy… or were you too busy watching American Idol?
Terry Salas you are clearly a man of absolutely no taste whatsoever. Joss whedon is a fantastic director, who, far from focussing on one liners opts for complex character building instead. firefly is a testemant to this. yes if you try to judge it like an episode of friends it will be found wanting, but that is because friends relies on one liners and has very little other content, whereas if you actually take the time to watch firefly properly, youll find it a fantastic and infinitely subtle show
I’ve heard of Firefly and Serenity from people who watch Buffy/Angel/Dollhouse (I myself am a Buffy/Angel fan) but don’t really know what it’s about and it doesn’t look interesting. And almost all the people I know have never heard of it.
maybe
oh. my. GOD!!! i am having such a geekgasm!
I was with you until you started suggesting Whedon regulars for some of these roles. He’s got a lot of bigwigs to impress with this, and I can’t see him snagging any of his go-to people for this.
Although Alan Tudyk would be pretty awesome as Pym…
no Jeremy Renner needs to be Hawkeye
Agreed!
My, that’s good.
Thinking the exact same thing!
Inspired casting. Someone get an exec to look at paige’s post, STAT. can we make that happen, please?
Renner himself (who is friends with Penn – who wrote Thor) talked about it and nothing came of it. He was considered – briefly.
The rumour of Renner as Hawkeye was squashed as pure fiction by Renner.
Renner was in an episode of Angel, you know. It’s not like he refused to be apart of a Whedon show before..
Yes! Yes! Yes! He would make a great Hawkeye, who happens to be my favorite Avenger, and the Avengers are my favorite Marvel team. I love Josh’s work so I am very happy to hear this news.
This news is so freaking good, I need to go have a cigarette and I don’t even smoke. Dear movies gods, please let this happen. I am willing to trade both kidneys and a lung for this to happen.
HHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**********************TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!
Overated ;|
Someone please call Dean Winchester.
It’s like everything that I love just converged into one place…
HAHA! Beautiful!
One word; Skrulls.
I think he’s an acquired taste, I don’t care for his stuff at all.
Sir, I am with you. He’s an acquired taste in the same way that soap operas are – not a taste I am interested in acquiring.
Yes, he’s an acquired taste for people who like their entertainment to be entertaining.
Oh sean you are truly funny lol
He’s an acquired taste for people who like hyped-up overrated schlock.
As opposed, Andy, to something of quality, like, say, “Avatar?”
Will it be a musicaL?
Why would you tease us with this? The pain of anticipation is almost too great to bear, and if it turns out not to be true, the wrath of a thousand geeks will rain down upon you. Foolish move.
Actually four; And many of them!
Can’t wait. All self avowed Buffy-Sluts rejoice!
Who the heck is Aunt Man? Do you mean Ant Man? But yes, this is awesome news.
What surprising and fantastic news! Since Whedon’s got a fetish for women warriors, I wonder if the ladies will have a bigger part than they would have. Angelina Jolie as the Scarlet Witch! Emily De Ravin as Mocking Bird! Lucy Lawless as Ms. Marvel! Natalie Portman as Moondragon! (She looks good bald, see V for Vendetta)