Joss Whedon

Joss Whedon has plenty of experience as a showrunner. During his years in television he brought worlds like Firefly, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel to life, and even managed to the connect the arcs of the last two together. And now it looks like Whedon will have to take that same experience and talent to the big screen as he is basically becoming the showrunner for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Following news from earlier this afternoon, when it was announced that Whedon would be writing and directing The Avengers 2 and working on a television show set within the MCU, Marvel Studios has told the Los Angeles Times that Whedon has actually signed a three year exclusive deal with the studio that will have him working under the company’s roof until June 2015.

In addition to the projects announced earlier today, Whedon will also be contributing creatively to the Marvel universe as a whole, but that actually isn’t really new ground for the filmmaker. After being hired to write and direct The Avengers, Marvel had him do some work on the script for Captain America: The First Avenger and he also directed the tag scene at the end of Thor. While it’s unlikely that Whedon will have any role in the development of Iron Man 3 or Thor: The Dark World, as one is already months into production and the other is just a few weeks away from it, he could very well play a crucial role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, which are the two films that Marvel is currently developing for 2014.

This is honestly the greatest thing Marvel could have done. Company President Kevin Feige did an absolutely brilliant job with developing Phase One, introducing audiences to the characters and getting them ready for a larger life on screen, but putting Whedon as the man at the helm is perfection. His years on television have shown that he is a genius when it comes to character development and gradual personality shifts, and that’s exactly what the Marvel Cinematic Universe will need in the years ahead. There is not a piece of bad news to be found in this developing story.