Joss Whedon talked to Total Film magazine recently and rather than be intimidated by topping the #3 highest-grossing film of all time, he seems absolutely enthused about furthering the Avengers mythos on film. Iron Man 3 will kick off Phase 2 off the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Avengers 2 will provide its period in May 2015. Here’s what Whedon had to say:
The only pressure is the pressure that is there every time I do a new project. Is it going to be good? It is going to be different? Is there even a reason to make another one? Is there a reason for this to be my next thing? Can I pull it off? I am not going to try and match the box office of the first one because that would be bonkers. Yes, there is a certain level of safety [knowing there’s a huge audience] – because now people know about The Avengers and they like the characters so it probably won’t completely crash and burn. But you don’t want to just get by and do something that is merely OK. If I am going to dedicate three years of my short life to this then I want to do something that I have never done before. So I think of The Avengers 2 as a glorious challenge – it is a sequel, yes, but how can it be different? Of course, the pressure that I don’t feel, my body internalises. It happens all the time. I was comfortable making the first Avengers, but I didn’t sleep during it.
‘Glorious challenge’ is what you want to hear! I’ve been a Whedonite since the Buffy days so I have no doubt he’ll deliver in Avengers 2. He also told Total Film that the script outline he’d turned in to Marvel contained “seven things worth the price of admission alone”. WOOT!
