Speaking to
SFX Magazine about the people, television shows and characters that influenced him in his career, Joss Whedon "assembled" quite a diverse list. Here's a few excerpts from the feature but I highly, higly recommend that you head over to SFX and go through the whole feature as you'll get a better sense of Whedon's directorial style and what to possibly expect in The Avengers:
“I tried to think about people that I haven’t already talked about constantly, because everyone already knows about Charles Dickens and Stan Lee and some of those fellows who were also huge influences on me,” says Whedon. “So I’ve tried to come up with people who you might not be aware of. I do have a few.”
Joss Whedon on Steve Gerber and Howard The Duck:
“When I opened up my first issue of Howard The Duck, I was already enough of a Marvel geek to know the character from Man-Thing and such. But I was truly unprepared for the full Steve Gerber experience. When you open up your first issue of a new comic and here’s the title character contemplating suicide, and oh, yeah, PS, he’s a duck!… Well, as a writer, you’re already busting it all open — your mind, your heart, your soul. No one wrote losers like Steve. Particularly in his work on Howard The Duck and Defenders — these were real washouts, these were the losers of the otherwise bright and powerful Marvel Universe. But Steve would use these characters as conduits to really pick apart society right in the middle of Marvel Comics, and do it so very blithely and intelligently. I was always stunned by his ability to do that.
Joss Whedon on Buck Rogers:
We’re not talking about the TV show. I cannot stress that enough. I’m not talking about the TV show, and for the purposes of this conversation… we will never talk about that TV show. I’m talking about the comic strip. I had a book collecting the old comic strip when I was little, that started right at the beginning of the strip, and ran continuously for at least the first couple of years. Everything I love about SF is rooted in that. I love that style of art and that time. I adore the jumping belts, and Wilma Deering wearing a leather football helmet, and the fact that everyone had ray guns. And they were in Zeppelins! Extra points for that. And the way they managed a hook at the end of every four panels to keep you coming back for more every… single… day! was just fascinating. It’s very old-fashioned, pop and pow, and there’s nothing remotely ironic. It’s just this great sci-fi, pulpy action coming at ya.”
Whedon lists a ton of more influences over at SFX but I think Stan Lee, Steve Gerber and Buck Rogers are the most pertinent here for our site. I'll admit, I was worried about Whedon initially but it really looks like he was indeed the perfect man for the job.
To read more from Whedon order
issue 220 of SFX, on sale Wednesday 7 March.
The Avengers is an upcoming American superhero film produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. It is the sixth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film is written and directed by Joss Whedon and features an ensemble cast, which includes Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson. In The Avengers, Nick Fury, director of the peacekeeping organization S.H.I.E.L.D., recruits Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Captain America to save the world from destruction.
Development of The Avengers began when Marvel Studios received a grant from Merrill Lynch in April 2005. After the success of the film Iron Man in May 2008, Marvel announced that The Avengers would be released in July 2011. With the signing of Scarlett Johansson in March 2009, the film was pushed back for a 2012 release. Whedon was brought on board in April 2010 and rewrote the screenplay that was originally written by Zak Penn. Production began in April 2011 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before moving to Cleveland, Ohio in August 2011 and New York City in September 2011. The film was converted to 3D in post-production.
The Avengers is scheduled for release on May 4, 2012 in the United States in 2D and 3D.
Running Time: Unknown
Release Date: May 4 2012 (USA)
MPAA Rating: PG 13 for for intense sequences of action and violence, some disturbing images, and language
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hiddleston, Cobie Smulders, Jeremy Renner, Clark Gregg, Stellan Skarsgård, Mark Ruffalo, Amanda Righetti, Scarlett Johansson and Lou Ferrigno
The Incredible Hulk (voice) .
Directed by: Joss Whedon
Written by: Zak Penn (initial screenplay), Joss Whedon (revised screenplay)