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Marvel recently announced that Joss Whedon, writer and director of the popular blockbuster "The Avengers," has signed an exclusive contract with Marvel Studios to write and direct movie and television productions through the end of June 2015.
Included in that deal is his opportunity to write and direct the thrilling sequel, "The Avengers 2." With such high statitics that the original movie had, it's no doubt that Marvel isn't willing to cut loose what some call "the greatest director of our time." Some of those statistics included the following:
- "The Avengers" opening weekend gross, totalling at $207.1 million, surpassed "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2" in opening weekend sales by $38 million.
- The movie has the highest per-theater average in history: $46,057.
- It has become the fastest movie ever to reach the $100, $150, and $200 million marks.
Statistics obtained from mLIVE.
In addition to this production, Joss Whedon will also be helping to develop a live-action series for Marvel Television on ABC and contribute creatively to the next phase of Marvel's Cinematic Universe.
Included in their announcement of Whedon's partnership contract, Marvel included a paragraph stating the anticipated release dates of more feature blockbusters based off of their characters, three of which being sequels to Avengers-characters' movies. One, however, is a new production; I'll leave you to figure out which in the table below.
| Movie Title | Planned Release Date |
|---|---|
| Iron Man 3 | May 3rd, 2013 |
| Thor: The Dark World | November 8, 2013 |
| Captain Amercia: The Winter Soldier | April 4, 2014 |
| Guardians of the Galaxy | August 1, 2014 |
No further information has yet been provided by Marvel regarding Whedon's contract. The original story can be found here.
What do you think about this development? What will it mean for the future of Marvel video game productions? Do you suppose these soon-to-come movies will do as well as previous Marvel Studios blockbusters? Share your thoughts in the comments!