Good Luck With That: Joss Whedon Says The Only Way To Approach An 'Avengers' Sequel Is To Make It Smaller & More Intimate

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by Kevin Jagernauth
March 9, 2012 1:38 PM
8 Comments

Well, "The Avengers" is still a little bit away from hitting theaters, but might as well get the sequel talk started already, right? Because since everyone in the Marvel universe has signed their lives and their children's lives away to star in the series forever, if the movie is a big box office hit (and it should be) and pleases the fans (it likely will) you can bet everyone will be getting out their dayplanners to figure out when they can get Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner and Tom Hiddleston all back together in the same room. But if Joss Whedon has his way (and he won't), his concept for a sequel to "The Avengers" runs directly opposite the current climate in Hollywood.

Asked by SFX what he would do for a sequel, Whedon said he would change things, "By not trying to. By being smaller. More personal, more painful... By being the next thing that should happen to these characters, and not just a rehash of what seemed to work the first time. By having a theme that is completely fresh and organic to itself."

He says he was drawn to "The Avengers" -- which features Hulk smashing stuff out of the sky -- by the character details and the dialogue. "I want to know what makes them tick, what makes them flawed, what makes them fight - and ultimately, what makes them awesome," Whedon said. "I go to these movies for those moments when the heroes define themselves, either through action or deliciously overwritten speeches."

While it's admirable he wants to do "The Puffy Chair" version of a superhero tentpole, take any brief look at the Marvel series of the films and you know that with each successive effort they try to raise the bar. By it's very nature, "The Avengers" will always be overstuffed, crammed with heroes who have to face an opponent or cause worthy of getting them all together. We'd love to see a $25 million Sundance version, but it's never gonna happen.

Anyway, "The Avengers" arrives in character-defining 3D on May 4th. Oh, here's some new pics of Cobie Smulders standing around as Maria Hill. [via ComingSoon/Digital Spy; images from Marvel]

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More: Joss Whedon, The Avengers

8 Comments

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Cinematic_high | March 10, 2012 3:48 PMReply

These are all valid points.....and I would love to do that...but the only way that would happen is if either the folks at marvel studios grow a pair, or we fund the shit ourselves.....
Cinematic_high | March 10, 2012 3:41 PMReply

These are all valid points.....and I would love to do that...but the only way that would happen is if either the folks at marvel studios grow a pair, or we fund the shit ourselves.....
Jandy | March 9, 2012 11:47 PMReply

There's a huge range of budget between a $25 million Sundance film and the scale of a standard superhero movie. I seriously doubt he wants to do Mumblecore Avengers. But a $60-85 million mid-sized action film would be an extremely intriguing way to go. Now, I'm guessing you're right that Marvel won't even go for that, but saying that Whedon's suggestion of a slightly smaller, more character-driven Avengers story is ludicrous is a bit extreme.
zatopek | March 9, 2012 4:37 PMReply

It should be sexual if it cannot be denied. Just saying. Those doors are not revolving for themselves.
HombreGato | March 9, 2012 4:13 PMReply

There's tons of deeply personal material to play with when dealing with The Avengers, and plenty of antagonists who would hit the heart of why they assemble without the need for another full scale invasion. Just think about the cataclysmic threat under the hood of Batman Begins shifting to The Dark Knight's one solitary nutjob and his ability to screw up all of Brucie's best pals. Avengers 2 should be closer to the tone of Whedon's Astonishing X-Men comics, where most of the pages are devoted to character development with sudden impacts of badassery.
Lyssie Carter | March 9, 2012 2:56 PMReply

Wow. Way to totally miss Whedon's point. Going smaller and more intimate is seriously the only way a movie like this will produce any kind of quality product. Go in the action explosion direction and you get Transformers 2.
Adam | March 9, 2012 2:28 PMReply

This might be very enticing to the notoriously cheap Marvel, especially if they're forced to give everyone a pay raise between now and then. Order of the Phoenix, I think, was the most expensive Harry Potter movie, as everyone's contracts expired and they had to renegotiate salaries in order to finish the series. Having the Avengers just sit around S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters arguing or playing videogames at Tony's bachelor pad would simultaneously save Marvel millions of dollars and be the most fucking awesome Avengers movie ever.
Neo | March 9, 2012 1:44 PMReply

How do you know what he means. Could be going the Ultron route staying closer to home.