Joss Whedon

Dear Mr. Whedon,

I’m delighted, as is everyone, that you are directing The Avengers. We know it will be fantastic, and we can’t wait.

I hope that as you make it, you will play to your real strength - love. The center of your shows is love, as you say yourself at the end of "Serenity". The ship - and the show - can’t fly without it.

I don’t mean romance, couples finding each other, though that can be part of it. I mean the love that moves us all to do our best to care for and safeguard our friends, our families, and our worlds. I mean the love between friends and neighbours and allies and even enemies, when it exists, and when it matters that it does not. I mean your obvious love for every single one of your characters, even the complete rotters; and the love you makes us feel for them in turn.

Love is the warm, beating heart of everything you do best. It was the heart of your masterpiece, Firefly, and of Buffy. Angel was fascinating because it explored what happens when love really isn’t there, though the protagonist - whom you loved - desperately wanted it to be. It was developing in Dollhouse, through the surprising moral growth of Topher and Adelle. It’s always there, in your best work.

Sometimes you seem to think that plot or action scenes are your main strength, and what we watch you for. And don’t get me wrong: you’re great at those and we wouldn’t enjoy your work as much if you weren’t. But they aren’t the point.

The fight scenes in Serenity were great, but they took up so much of center field that they took the focus away from the characters we loved in Firefly. The end of Dollhouse wrapped up the loose plot points very neatly, but it all happened so fast that again we lost something of the characters. (Though Topher still broke my heart.)

It’s a tricky balancing act. You have to have plot. You have to have action. People will complain if you don’t. But I hope that while you’re working on the Avengers, you remember that we can get fight scenes anywhere. Lots of people write good ones. Half the films out there today are all about the fight scenes. But those films can’t do the thing you can do. They can’t make us love their characters or care what happens to them. That’s what you do better than anyone else.

Show us how you love the characters, and we will love them too. Eye candy and flashy fight scenes and cool plots only matter if we care about the people. Let your love for your characters be the center of the film. Make us care. And then it will be another Whedon masterpiece, and a truly great movie.

Yours faithfully,

A devoted fan