I'm told Marvel Studios is in final negotiations for Buffy the Vampire Slayer series architect Joss Whedon to direct Marvel Studios' The Avengers. That's the fast-tracked film that would amount to an all-star team of Marvel superheros, including Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), as well as SHIELD leader Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Other signature superheros will likely be involved, but I've listed the actors in active superhero duty. Whedon has been rumored for this job for awhile, and is high on the fanboy wish-list. He's an interesting choice: despite his writing/producing TV series resume, his lone feature directing effort, Serenity, was not a hit. After Iron Man 2, Marvel has three pictures left on a distribution deal with Paramount before it moves to Disney, and the studio has been churning them out. Iron Man 2 gets released in May, Captain America will begin shooting this summer in Europe, Thor is in production, and Marvel Studios just set Pete Sollett to direct Runaways, based on the comic book series created by Lost writer Brian K. Vaughan. Whedon has written installments of the latter, so he knows how to make those superheros fly. Marvel has considered all of the individual superhero movies to be an intro to The Avengers, so the wanna-see on this one will be huge. The film will be released in the first weekend of May, 2012.

Joss had total creative control over his early TV successes, and that showed.
Of all the other film/TV projects he's been involved in there's been meddling from the studios involved, and they have, to some degree or other, failed.
Let the guy get on with it, I say.

Mark

I think he’s on the wrong continent. He should work here. He would have a smaller budget, but the audiences and channels would be more keen on his output.

I'm still hopeful that Ripper will get made.

Mark

You see, to me the Avengers is: John Steed and Emma Peel, with Joanna Lumley and possibly that Gambit bloke. Not some US comic strip tomfoolery.

The idea that Whedon would reboot The Avengers is kind of appealing, but only if he were to do it in this country.

You see, to me the Avengers is: John Steed and Emma Peel, with Joanna Lumley and possibly that Gambit bloke. Not some US comic strip tomfoolery.

You see, to me the Avengers is: John Steed and Emma Peel, with Joanna Lumley and possibly that Gambit bloke. Not some US comic strip tomfoolery

After the disaster that was the 1998 Avengers film with Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman I doubt anyone will try rebooting this franchise for some time.

I do need to ask if we should either not refer to the Gambit chap in the context of the Avengers, or at least point out that he was in the New Avengers?

I'm glad I wasn't the one to have to point this out. (8+)

Mark

So was Lumley. I see no one pointing that out