Or is it just an offhand fraternal jest taken out of context...?

In an interview about a new trade paperback collecting his Doctor Horrible comics, Zack Whedon, Joss’ brother and Doctor Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog co-writer, quipped that the Doctor Horrible sequel may be held up by the fact that “...we are all anxious to work on it, but some of us—and I’m not pointing any fingers here—some of us have tentatively agreed to helm an all-star mega-blockbuster summer tent-pole extravaganza movie to be released in 2012.”  So unless Jed and Maurissa are actually directing Batman 3 (with Neil Patrick Harris as the Music Meister!), then he’s probably referring to Joss and The Avengers.

However, from Zack’s clearly jokey tone, it’s probably just an offhand comment.  Perhaps he simply meant that by entering into final negotiations with Marvel, Joss “tentatively agreed”, because he would have to be serious about a project to get to that stage.

It’s been a long time since it was announced that Joss Whedon was in final negotiations to direct, and it hasn’t been denied that it’s happening, so perhaps the reason that no-one in the know has said definitively: “Joss Whedon is directing The Avengers.  This is my word and as such is beyond contestation.” is because they’re waiting for an official announcement from Marvel.

Maybe it won’t actually be announced until the film comes out.  (Or it could be a marketing strategy: “See the Avengers movie, and find out if it’s actually directed by Joss Whedon!”)

Maybe we won’t even know for sure until we see an Avengers movie which leaps deftly between genres, has characters exchanging witty, quotable dialogue, and features the sudden death of a beloved character.

Maybe they’re still in negotiations.  (“BTW, I just rocked a Glee episode.  The price just went up.”)  Joss Whedon probably wants to make absolutely sure it’ll work out creatively.  After all, he’s had his work on superhero comic book movies effectively ignored before, with X-Men and (the still-in-development, though he’s no longer involved) Wonder Woman.

Or maybe it’s all some massive experiment, and internet geeks are the lab rats.  However, the collective geek anticipation has reached such a level that if it turns out not to be true, probably the only thing that could make up for it would be a Firefly Season 2.  (Which would be basically the best thing ever.  That’s how important it is.  So, yeah, Marvel, let the Whedonites win.)

Hopefully he’s demanding final cut, a first look deal to write and/or direct any of the properties Marvel have the rights to, and a large percentage of the gross, so that he’ll be able to fund any future TV series (or revisit previous ones) without having to rely on cancel-happy networks.  Hey, a fan can dream.  And besides, two months ago, the thought of Joss Whedon actually getting offered the chance to direct a comic book movie, let alone an epic crossover like The Avengers, would have seemed unlikely at best, so anything’s possible.

In any case, if this turns out to have been taken completely out of context, and there’s a resulting flurry of angry disappointment (or a maelstrom of geek rage) after people have got their hopes up unnecessarily, then my contrition completely dwarfs the impending apocalypse.

MTV

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