Joss Whedon has entered final negotiation for The Avengers
Zak Penn is writing the screenplay which will see a number of the Marvel superheroes including Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Captain America (Chris Evans) along with Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury.
Marvel Studios is still eyeing a May 4, 2012 release date for the film. We'll be sure to keep you posted on any new developments surrounding The Avengers as soon as we have more information.
Marvel's The Avengers was released May 4th, 2012 and stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg. The film is directed by Joss Whedon.
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Emmytt
cant wait
2 years agoby @emmyttFlag
Josh
I haven't seen a superhero film with "opening credits" in years, that I can think of.
Also, I love how MovieWeb is claiming that Johansson, Norton, and Cheadle are going to be in this movie, when all that's been confirmed is that it will have Thor, Cap, Iron Man, and Nick Fury. For that matter, wasn't the rumor that Jeremy Renner was going to play Hawkeye shot down months ago?
2 years agoby @shuabertFlag
renodc
Whedon has been on many short lists and has been in negotiations to direct several comic book based films, including Iron Man before Favreau and Wonder Woman. Obviously, so far he has yet to see any of them to fruition, so I'm taking this with a grain of salt and will believe it when I actually see the opening credits of the film say "directed by Joss Whedon".
2 years agoby @renodcFlag
jonquest
I definitely don't get the Whedon hate... you all don't make any sense. There are people raving about how much better Favreau would be than Whedon... but what exactly did he do to establish his comic book movie cred BEFORE Iron Man? Nothing... oh wait, he was IN Daredevil. Stunning. So if Favreau can come from the "epic" Elf and Zathura and still nail Iron Man why couldn't a guy steeped in the comic book/sci-fi genre (Buffy/Angel/Firefly/Serenity/Dr. Horrible/Dollhouse/Astonishing X-Men/etc) be a decent choice? I said it before, I'll say it again... Half the directors most of you hold up as brilliant, Fincher, Nolan, Abrams, Spielberg, Favreau, Singer, etc all started out somewhere... At least this guy comes into the game with a knowledge of the universe, the characters and their dynamics, brings in great story telling skills, and quality geek cred... the kind that keeps a movie like this as close to the source material as possible.
Oh, and I love everyone that likes his shows/movie and still thinks he isn't right for this project. That makes a lot of sense. How was Singer the right choice for X-Men... he didn't have any superhero movies under his belt before that. How was Nolan right for Batman... he didn't have any comic book cred. As mentioned before, how was Favreau right for Iron Man?
2 years agoby @jonquestFlag
ejk1
It's not sh*t, Serenity is the only film he's directed, and it was good. As for Wonder Woman, who has it now? Nobody. He isn't the only person that was attached to that project, and now it doesn't look like it's even going to happen. I'm not going to blame Whedon for DC's inability to let anyone make this film(we've been waiting almost five years for that movie, and it still doesn't have a script). Again, I'm not saying that he's the best choice, it's just that you still haven't explained why his quality of work isn't good enough.
2 years agoby @ejk1Flag
Teunis
Sorry ejk1, but that's sh*t. The only film you mentioned was Serenity, and guess what, the only thing it was was entertaining. Buffy, Angel, Firefly... seen it. All great 'television'. Would watch 'em all again.
Joss couldn't get Wonder Woman off the ground. The guy is good in my books, but not for film.
2 years agoby @teunisFlag
ejk1
Teunis, what do you mean his quality isn't film worthy? I know his quality, but do you? Have you even seen Buffy, Angel, or Firefly? Each of those shows had episodes that had more drama, tension, and action in 44 minutes than many movies more than twice the length. Have you seen Serenity, which was critically praised? I'm not saying he's the best guy for the job, but don't attack his credentials by criticizing the quality of his work without expounding on what you mean.
2 years agoby @ejk1Flag
Teunis
@mosorwvlad
Totally agree. WTF has been going on in Hollywood lately. Everybody is jumping on the comic-to-screen band wagon, and have no idea how to do it. Now Marvel is starting to fail. Chris Evans and Cap is bad enough.
Now, Whedon may do a good job, but we all know his quality, and it ain't film worthy so far.
2 years agoby @teunisFlag
CBF
@Diaigma: More like 6 or 7 Avengers. Let's count who we know so far.
1- Captain America
2- Iron Man
3- Thor
4- Hulk
5- Black Widow
6- War Machine
Of course there's also Nick Fury, but he leads SHIELD, which The Avengers are contracted under. So he doesn't really count. But I wonder who the villain(s) will be. Not sure about Jeremy Renner and Tom Hiddleston, they might be foes.
2 years agoby @comicbookfanFlag
Josh
@jptheredskull: Except that every word out of Norton's mouth in the past year has been about how he ISN'T going to be one of The Avengers. Yes, there's a high probability of the Hulk being in the movie, but if Norton is in it as Banner, it will probably just be for two scenes before and after he becomes HULK.
2 years agoby @shuabertFlag
mosorwvlad
Why the hell do they give great movies to bad directors ? why people why ? is there a reason ?
2 years agoby @mosorwvladFlag
Dedpool
I would prefer Favs, but his hesitation makes me wonder. Whedon is a good choice though. He's good with ensemble casts and I think he'd bring an interesting energy to the film that would make it different from Iron Man, Incredble Hulk, and Cap.
2 years agoby @dedpoolFlag
J.P.
@Diaigma and @firstonetodieloses; if you read the cast list, you'll see that edward norton is indeed in the film. also, the head of Marvel studios, Kevin Feige, confirmed that the hulk would be in the film
2 years agoby @jptheredskullFlag
firstonetodieloses
Jon Favreau! I know he said he wouldn't do it just toss him some more money lol unfortunately money talks in this industry. seriously though, I dont think Iron Man couldve been any better and I'm sure Iron Man 2 is gonna be insane as well. Oh and please Marvel bring back Edward Norton! His dr. banner is great!
2 years agoby @firstonetodielosesFlag
Diaigma
So, only 3 Avengers? Hmm.
2 years agoby @diaigmaFlag
CBF
Yes I should have had a problem with this immediately. Guess I just like Whedon because I am watching the Buffy series at the moment, collecting his Buffy Season 8 comics, and he almost did the Wonder Woman movie. But just because Jon Favreau is at the producer helm, doesn't mean Whedon can pull this off. Yeah, my bad. I take back what I said before.
2 years agoby @comicbookfanFlag
NoLongerUsedAccount
Jon Favreau Jon FavreauJon FavreauJon FavreauJon Favreauf*ckingJon FavreauJon Favreauhe is the sh*tJon Favreau
2 years agoby @thefilmfanaticFlag
NoLongerUsedAccount
no he will not work at all, serenity was good but so not superhero director
2 years agoby @thefilmfanaticFlag
NoLongerUsedAccount
i believe that they should hurry up and bringo ut the other charcters and then bring this out, its too soon but this director does not seem a good choice either unknown director, or Jon Or Keith Or Jonston
2 years agoby @thefilmfanaticFlag
ejk1
Fallen, I understand the concern about Whedon, but don't give too much credit to Branagh just yet either. Don't get me wrong, the guy is a great director of Shakespeare, but Thor is a totally different animal. Let's wait and see Thor before Branagh is given too much credit or criticism.
2 years agoby @ejk1Flag
cryhawks
I think this a great choice he knows these characters well he knows the world of Marvel well & he will bring that knowledge to this movie & bring all 4 of these movies together this will be the 1st time anything like this has ever happened & i am beyond excited.
2 years agoby @cryhwksFlag
The Narrator: The Better Man
@Josh, I have much more faith in Johnston or Branagh than this guy. He hasn't done a single movie besides Serenity that shows he can handle this. And Serenity wasn't that great.
2 years agoby @narratorFlag
The Narrator: The Better Man
All this guy has under his belt is 22 episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Serenity, and an episode of glee and few other little tidbits... Is he really going to direct this power house? I don't know.
2 years agoby @narratorFlag
jonquest
Thanks Josh for the feedback. I didn't mention the different directors to exclusively point to people who started in TV, just to show that a lot of directors paid their dues somewhere/somehow before their first hit movie. Trying to make the point that just because Whedon doesn't have an extensive movie background doesn't mean he's a poor choice, especially when considering the other work he's done. Abrams was an example I actually wanted to mention but COMPLETELY slipped my mind when I was typing... great call!
2 years agoby @jonquestFlag
Josh
All very good points, @jonquest, and for someone to call Whedon's shows "lame" clearly shows they haven't watched them. The guy is insanely clever.
I see where you're going with those directors, but Nolan's indie debut "Following" is better than some of his later films. I would bring up a more recent example, and that's JJ Abrams, who worked almost exclusively in TV and then went on to direct one of the biggest critical and commercial genre projects of 2009, the reboot of Star Trek. Hell, even his Mission: Impossible movie is considered the best of that series by many people (not me, but many people).
Yes, anyone who has read Whedon's work in Marvel comics would be really excited for this.
2 years agoby @shuabertFlag
SaintCharles
@ highcaliber he did do Serenity, based on another of his shows (Firefly)
2 years agoby @saintcharlesFlag
jonquest
@HighCaliber... you do know that Whedon HAS in fact directed a movie? One that was pretty good in most genre lover's opinions. The fact is too that Whedon knows the comic book genre very well so that is why many comic book fans are excited for his shot at this, wait for it... a comic book movie. Most of the "lame" stuff that Whedon produces is better than the "good" stuff these other cats are making. And I don't get the problem with a guy coming from mainly TV into movies. Everyone pays their dues somewhere before they jump into movies. What do you think Fincher did before Se7en? How many movies did Ridley Scott have under his belt before Aliens? How many brilliant films had Nolan put out before Memento?
2 years agoby @jonquestFlag
Sam1123
wow this guy shouldnt even be mentioned for this mighty project .. he would prob fuk up a disney show if given the chance ...
2 years agoby @sam1123Flag
The Soylent Green Monkey
Oh my God, yes!
2 years agoby @soylentgreen2Flag
...YeahButTheBookWasBetter
on a side note even the Iron Man 2 toys are getting me pumped for this, they have SHIELDS logo on it and around the SHIELD symbol it say AVENGERS ASSEMBLE, its a nice touch
2 years agoby @theboywhocriedsequelFlag