I am – Hercules!!
From IESB, under the headline “IESB Exclusive: Leading Contender in Line to Direct THE AVENGERS... !!! NOT AN APRIL FOOLS JOKE!!!”:
The same sources that spilled the beans to IESB about Spider-Man 4 being put on an indefinite hold back in December, have revealed that another leading contender on that short list to direct THE AVENGERS film is none other than Joss Whedon.
Louis Leterrier was often mentioned to direct the "Avengers" feature, but that was before Ain’t It Cool’s Harry Knowles (and a boatload of other critics) disparaged Leterrier's big-budget “Clash of the Titans,” which opens at midnight.
But. Have a look at this excerpt from a 2005 In Focus Magazine interview:
IN FOCUS MAGAZINE: Given how you seem to embrace ensembles, does Marvel’s “Avengers” project over at Paramount offer any particular appeal?
JOSS WHEDON: Y’know, the thing about the X-Men is they have a coherent core. The Avengers to me is tough. I wouldn’t approach The Avengers, I wouldn’t approach the Fantastic Four. The X-Men are all born of pain, and pain is where I hang my hat.
Of course, Whedon could have reconsidered over the last half-decade.
Aside from writing the bestselling Astonishing X-Men funnybook series for Marvel, Whedon worked on a pre-Favreau "Iron Man" movie for Marvel and New Line and wrote a script for the first "X-Men" film, a tiny bit of which was utilized.
Longtime readers know I (and others) adore Whedon’s directorial work on “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” episodes like “Hush,” “The Body” and “Once More With Feeling,” and on the Emmy-winning "Dr. Horrible." Oh, and anybody remember that fifth-season "Angel" episode "A Hole In The World"? And that "Firefly" episode "Objects in Space"? He also made Dwight Schrute fight bats! So count me super-excited if there’s any truth to this.
Whedon wrote and directed this incredibly hilarious and moving one I quite enjoyed as well:
Find all of IESB’s story on the matter here.
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