Joss Whedon has a very full plate at the moment, and that plate is full of Marvel goodies. In an interview with Vulture, he talked about his experience with them and why he signed the exclusive three year deal and the origins of his recently announced S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show.
When asked about his contract, which covers The Avengers 2, the S.H.I.E.L.D. show, and creative input on the other films, he said, “I loved the idea of being a consigliere. Every writer loves the idea of being able to go in and fix a problem and then leave without obligation. It’s fun! I also love these characters and the Marvel universe, and I grew up reading the books, and I’ve been going back and reading the old books and realizing that they shaped my storytelling way more than I give them credit for. Now I’m starting up a TV show, which is something I really wanted to do, but I thought it wasn’t going to be a part of my life for the next several years. It’s like a tapas menus of projects that excite me, in addition to the Avengers sequel, which I’m excited for because I’m incredibly excited about the next story that I’m going to tell. For me, it’s a huge win.
“So, it’s going to be an insane few years, but I feel ready for that. It’s an unholy amount of productivity, but as long as I give it all I can, it’s a good thing. What’s great is that the deal with Marvel is nonspecific, so I will give all I can, but the moment I can’t, I just walk away. The moment I say, ‘You know, I’d like to help more on this project, but I need this time for The Avengers,’ there’s no obligation.”
And when asked how he felt about working on a TV show with a huge promotional push, differing from his other shows, he laughed and said, “You know, I can’t guarantee that any of that will happen! But so far, it feels just fine. The important thing to me is that we know what the show is. We love what it is. It came together very organically, so when we went in to pitch [to Marvel], it wasn’t like, We’re trying to find this because you want a TV show, it was, Check this out. And that’s a good way to walk in a room.
“Good support is wonderful, but it’s not a hill of beans, because they may give us all this support and then decide, ‘Eh. Yeah, it’s Friday.’ They might give us all the support and then not do that, but then audiences might go, ‘Yeahhh no.’ You just can’t be sure. What I do know is that it’s the show it should be, and we’ve got some really dope notions. It’s going to work very well for people who either love the Marvel universe or for people who’ve never dipped a toe in the Marvel universe.”
The Avengers 2 has been set for May 1, 2015 and will be preceded by Iron Man 3 on May 3, 2013, Thor: The Dark World on November 8, 2013, Captain America: The Winter Soldier on April 4, 2014 and Guardians of the Galaxy on August 1, 2014.
(Photo Credit: Brian To/WENN.com)
