Joss Whedon directing The Avengers – heaven?

It’s now widely assumed that Buffy creator Joss Whedon will be directing Marvel’s 2012 project The Avengers. Here, we present six reasons why that could kick ass. Soon, we will give you reasons why it doesn’t:

Whedon meets the A-list

We love Whedon’s alumni of talented men and folks of the small and sometimes big screen – he brought Nathan Fillion to our attention, for which we are eternally thankful – but he’s never worked with A-list actors before. The Avengers will star Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Samuel L Jackson and perhaps even Ed Norton. The possibilities are exciting.

He loves Marvel Comics

Whedon is responsible for Astonishing X-Men, one of the best titles published by Marvel over the past decade, plus he scribed a rather awesome arc on teen drama Runaways. Each of these projects displayed a smart view of the wider Marvel universe, something he’ll no doubt carry into The Avengers when he oversees the project.

Rewriting the script

Zak Penn’s original script will be given the once over by Whedon, who is, of course, as prolific a scriptwriter as he is a director, if not more so. This gives us the impression that Whedon has a lot of creative input into the direction of the project – let’s hope it doesn’t end like Whedon’s doomed take on the character Wonder Woman.

Overseeing Captain America

Brilliantly, news broke shortly after The Avengers announcement that Whedon would also be doing a brief rewrite of Joe Johnston’s The First Avenger: Captain America, no doubt an exercise in bringing unison to the multitude of Marvel projects on the go. We like it. Is it too late for him to back and give Iron Man 2 another readthrough?

Snappy dialogue

This is where Whedon shines. Though emotional resonance is arguably his forte as a writer/director (see Buffy’s ‘The Body’ for evidence), it’s his quick wit, and ability to cut through a dramatic scene with unbeatably sharp humour that defines him as a creator. The Avengers is a perfect match for that – these can be funny characters, and comedy will be key to their rapport.

He has the fan vote

If there’s one undeniable element of genius on Marvel’s part in Whedon’s hiring, it’s the understanding that the dedication from his fan base is unparalleled for a creator. This is a man whose fan base managed to get a feature film of a cancelled TV series made, as well as get a second series out of the Fox Network’s lowest-rated show. A safe bet, then.