Of course we always knew there was going to be a second Avengers, as the film made too much money for there not to be a sequel. But the question was, would Joss Whedon return?
There was a little doubt at first whether Whedon would be back. Maybe he was exhausted after helming the first movie to commit right away, but the franchise obviously wouldn’t be the same without him.
Then finally it was announced Whedon signed a three year deal with Marvel for both Avengers 2, as well as a S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show.
S0 why the slight hesitation? As Collider reports, Whedon said that a second Avengers “wasn’t a tough decision. For a long time I thought, Well, it’s jut not going to happen, [but] when I actually started to consider it, it became so clear that I desperately wanted to say more about these characters. It would’ve been an easy no and it was a spectacularly easy yes. Either scenario was delightful.”
Whedon also added, “There’s a business aspect to it, and I would be disingenuous not to say that, but the question for me is, Do I have another story to tell about these people?” Once the business side of the equation was straightened out, again Whedon asked himself, “Do I have another thing to say?”
Whedon then recalled he was in London, where he went to a pub and ordered some fish and chips and a pint. (What else?) Then he started writing down Avengers ideas in his notebook, and forty minutes later, the notebook was full. Next Whedon texted his agent and told him to make the Avengers 2 deal. “I’m so in love with that universe and the characters, and the way they were played,” Whedon said. “I have so much more I want to do with them.”
It’s also a given that everyone will be comparing the box office success of the first Avengers to the second one, and Whedon is smart enough to know it’s going to be just about impossible to make more money than the original, which is currently the third biggest movie of all time. Instead of trying to make more money, he said, “I can try to make a better film, and that’s what I’m excited about. That’s the new room of fear I’m entering now.”
Avengers 2 is currently slated for a May 1, 2015 release.
