Joss Whedon Officially Quits the Marvel Cinematic Universe

[JaredJones]

Joss Whedon Officially Quits the Marvel Cinematic Universe

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"I f*cking have no spine or self-identity or anything, and it's horrifying. It sucks... But I'll be okay... Later..."

Joss Whedon's falling out (or whatever you'd call it) with Marvel has been one of the most publicly documented yet thinly-veiled breakups in recent memory. In the time since Avengers: Age of Ultron was released, Whedon has the general state of Marvel [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/joss-whedon-ant-man-edgar-790740] among other grievances.

But Whedon's issues seem to extend far beyond just sour grapes -- he was, after all, the man behind two of Marvel's greatest successes, even if the reaction to Age of Ultron was slightly less than thrilling. Gifted storytellers of his type often achieve the best results when left to do their own thing, which is next to impossible when attempting to please the many masters involved in a Marvel production.

His decision to step away from the MCU was one of the many topics Whedon recently spoke about during a Q&A interview with the Oxford Union. When asked if he could ever be swayed to direct another Marvel film, Whedon was understandably blunt.

"No. You know I was their sort of consigliere for a while... We do not discuss our thing... But, I sort of had my finger in all of the films in the second phase, but then I just had to concentrate only on Ultron, and sort of know when it was done I was just going to stop," said the Age of Ultron director while speaking on his future with the company.

"So I made a completely clean break - not because we had a falling out - just because I was like, 'I can't...' (cinematic universes) cinematic universes that it "takes the soul out of a film if it's in service of so many other things ... and it doesn't feel like I'm watching a film, it feels like I'm watching an agenda."

Truthfully, it's hard to disagree with Whedon's notions when looking at the litany of characters being crammed-packed into each successive Marvel entry. Captain America: Civil War will feature some 16 superheroes in the main cast alone, bring a whole new meaning to the term "lip service" (you know, like the lip service that many felt weighed down Age of Ultron).

Speaking of which, Whedon also commented on the criticism he received for Age of Ultron, which is enough to make any aspiring director reconsider the glorious life of directing multi-million dollar comic book films.

Ultron has been the most complicated response I've gotten, and the way I deal with it is becoming fetal for about eight months. I fucking have no spine or self-identity or anything, and it's horrifying. It sucks... But I'll be okay... Later...

Honestly, I can't imagine that it would be easy for any director to achieve their vision when dealing with as many cooks as a Marvel product must entail, especially when knowing that the film's failures will be placed solely on your shoulders alone when all is said and one. And while you'd like to think that Whedon would have moved on to better endeavors by now, the fact that he reportedly blog [http://comicbook.com/2015/04/23/joss-whedon-made-more-money-from-dr-horrible-s-sing-along-blog-t/] than he did to direct The Avengers won't exactly help him heal his wounds.

Check out Whedon's full interview with the Oxford Union below.


Source: Esquire [http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/news/a40920/joss-whedon-done-with-marvel/]

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[Godzillarich(aka tf2godz)]

so is this going to be like a Jack Kirby thing? is he going to go to Warner Bros. and help make their DC movies awesome and get them back on track.

 

[Tono Makt]

disappointed in joss whedon.

understandable in not wanting to do any more marvel films, given the mass number of projects going on and the interference of marvel on projects.

but, he is coming off as a real whiner. his response to any form of criticism, constructive or legitimate or otherwise, has been to lash out with insults and then cowering.

I wonder if he wasn't insulated before the rise of Social Media against the kind of criticism that is coming his way now. I know people have always been critical of his work - after rewatching a few Buffy episodes, including Once More With Feeling (an episode I liked so much at the time I bought the CD) I'm astonished at just how much of a fanboy I actually was, and how blind I was to the flaws in his work when I thought I was just a casual fan at the time - but it's starting to seem like somehow he had managed to keep away from the raging, frothing hate that people had for his work.

Now when it's so easy to put something up on YouTube, or Twitter, or Facebook, or any of the other social media sites, and with the changing attitudes towards gender representation in media on both sides of the camera, maybe he's getting more criticism now than he can deal with. Add to that the predictable hispter-ish backlash against the MCU (which is annoying because when I'm critical, I just look like a hipster douche criticizing the MCU just to look cool) and the fact those hipsters are too young to be Buffy/Angel/Firefly fans (maybe Firefly, as it's possible to watch the entire series in a single day AND it's not dependent on understanding the pop culture of the time, like Angel and particularly Buffy are) so he's not getting the same defense from his former demographic either?

I dunno. Seems like a bad situation for him to be in, and he seems to be handling it in a less-than-stellar way, which is compounding the issue. (see: quitting Twitter because people were bitching about the Black Widow stuff in AoU)

 

[Soviet Heavy]

disappointed in joss whedon.

understandable in not wanting to do any more marvel films, given the mass number of projects going on and the interference of marvel on projects.

but, he is coming off as a real whiner. his response to any form of criticism, constructive or legitimate or otherwise, has been to lash out with insults and then cowering.

This is the guy who pissed off broadcast networks enough by making Firefly widescreen instead of 4:3 and so the network intentionally tanked his show, and then went and yelled about it.

 

[Ukomba]

First Lucas and now Whedon. It's almost like Disney is a Soul sucking Corporation gobbling up pop culture properties as fast as they can. I wouldn't be surprised to find them trying to get a hold of Harry Potter.

How long until they have JJ reboot the Marvel Universe and One-More-Day the comics?

 

[Jacked Assassin]

I wonder if there is any implication that he was tired of political correctness or just tired of source material changing over the years. He has every right to complain about whatever he had to deal with. It doesn't make in any less awkward when people decide to complain about his complaining.

 

[ron1n]

So I'm assuming this will mean he has no further involvement in Agents of Shield as well?

First Lucas and now Whedon. It's almost like Disney is a Soul sucking Corporation gobbling up pop culture properties as fast as they can.

Don't compare Whedon to Lucas. Whedon is a director/producer who was hired to do some films and tv, did them, and now wants a sea change.

Lucas is a narcissistic moron who sold out for billions and then had a sook because they didn't want to listen to him.

I can understand why Whedon wants to leave though. I just don't think the guy is cut out for bigger projects. He clearly has some massive insecurities about his work and that would be crippling when trying to do stuff on the scale he has been.

I hope the Russo Brothers get given the torch from here on out. Winter Soldier was easily the best film released out of the marvel universe in my opinion and Civil War is looking even better potentially.

(Edit: Oh never mind, looks like they already have been)

 

[Drago-Morph]

The manipulative editing in this article is off the charts. Taking quotes out of context to make them say the exact opposite of what they're saying, or to imply something that isn't there. I read the link that said Joss criticized Daredevil; he actually praises it. The only negative thing he says is that he fought for it to be a movie instead of a show, because he didn't think TV could do the tone justice, but admits that he was wrong. This entire article is full of misleading information set up to be a thin criticism of the MCU by misconstruing a man who has been very honest and amicable in his words.

If you're gonna take jabs at the MCU, fine, but do it openly and honestly. Jesus.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

it doesn't feel like I'm watching a film, it feels like I'm watching an agenda

Way ahead of you, Joss.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Well that's what happens when you have foaming at the mouth fans. I remember when Ultron came out and all his "fans" called his a sexist fuck who hates women and babies and kicks puppies and doesn't like Hunger Games and doesn't Netflix and chill with bae and has never done anything pro-women in his life.

Him. Whedon. Mr. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Had never done anything pro-woman.

And it wasn't a small thing. Reddit and Twitter exploded.

And I can imagine the disgusting vitriol of that bi-polar fanbase really hit him hard. Do one thing they perceive to be wrong and boom, all your years of work and all your accomplishments no longer matter.

 

[RedDeadFred]

First Lucas and now Whedon. It's almost like Disney is a Soul sucking Corporation gobbling up pop culture properties as fast as they can. I wouldn't be surprised to find them trying to get a hold of Harry Potter.

How long until they have JJ reboot the Marvel Universe and One-More-Day the comics?

I'm confused..... Whedon didn't own the rights of making Marvel films. Why would they have JJ reboot the film universe when it's already under their control? Why do you think they're obsessed with JJ, he's not even directing the next two Star Wars films.

Also, people seem to forget, Lucas didn't even direct the two best Star Wars films. He directed all of the prequels and A New Hope. Personally, I feel that Awakens was about on par with A New Hope, but JJ loses points because they're almost the same movie. I'm much happier with Star Wars being in Disney's hands than with Lucas.

I agree that Disney does seem to eat up a lot of properties as big corporations tend to do, but I don't think they've made particularly negative impacts on either of the universes you mentioned. Their films are very safe, but at least for Star Wars, that's kind of how it's always been. Straightforward plots, good versus evil, tonally lighthearted, and the good guys win the day.

Edit:

With Civil War basically being a small-scale Avenger's movie, let's see how a non-Whedon director/writer handles the inter-character dialog and relationships.

We already did with Guardians of the Galaxy. IMO, it's better than both of the Avengers movies and they didn't have the several movies of development for their characters.

 

[Ukomba]

So I'm assuming this will mean he has no further involvement in Agents of Shield as well?

First Lucas and now Whedon. It's almost like Disney is a Soul sucking Corporation gobbling up pop culture properties as fast as they can.

Don't compare Whedon to Lucas. Whedon is a director/producer who was hired to do some films and tv, did them, and now wants a sea change.

Lucas is a narcissistic moron who sold out for billions and then had a sook because they didn't want to listen to him.

I can understand why Whedon wants to leave though. I just don't think the guy is cut out for bigger projects. He clearly has some massive insecurities about his work and that would be crippling when trying to do stuff on the scale he has been.

I hope the Russo Brothers get given the torch from here on out. Winter Soldier was easily the best film released out of the marvel universe in my opinion and Civil War is looking even better potentially.

(Edit: Oh never mind, looks like they already have been)

Lucas was ATTEMPTING to pass on his creation to a company who would properly care for it. It wasn't like he was hurting for money. On top of that, he sold it to Disney for far less than the IP was worth (about 1/10th). Clearly, what ever he thought, or was told they were going to do with it and the direction they went weren't the same.

You might as well call Robert Jordan a narcissistic moron for selling out to Red Eagle Entertainment and then being unhappy when they completely mismanage the property. Just pray you don't ever create a beloved IP and then make a mistake on who to entrust with it.

 

[Ukomba]

Blasted double post.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

The manipulative editing in this article is off the charts. Taking quotes out of context to make them say the exact opposite of what they're saying, or to imply something that isn't there. I read the link that said Joss criticized Daredevil; he actually praises it. The only negative thing he says is that he fought for it to be a movie instead of a show, because he didn't think TV could do the tone justice, but admits that he was wrong. This entire article is full of misleading information set up to be a thin criticism of the MCU by misconstruing a man who has been very honest and amicable in his words.

If you're gonna take jabs at the MCU, fine, but do it openly and honestly. Jesus.

Absolutely, it's a pretty shitty, skewed, misrepresentative piece. But par for the course for Jared. Clickbait? Or just bad writing/form? Who knows. I seem to take the bait, though, so more fool me...

I'm a huge Whedon and MCU fan, and as far as I can tell there's never been any real falling out or break-up. Creative disagreements? Sure, but that's normal in any creative industry. I'd love for Joss to do more Marvel content (perhaps on the page, though, as Astonishing X-Men was arguably better than The Avengers film), but I absolutely get why Ultron would've wiped him out, and why he'd be something close to desperate to get back to his own projects. Or, hell, just different big projects.

 

[pilouuuu]

Well, Ultron was really underwhelming. The first Avengers was great though, so I wonder if he just lost passion for MCU.

 

[Albino Boo]

I wonder if he wasn't insulated before the rise of Social Media against the kind of criticism that is coming his way now. I know people have always been critical of his work - after rewatching a few Buffy episodes, including Once More With Feeling (an episode I liked so much at the time I bought the CD) I'm astonished at just how much of a fanboy I actually was, and how blind I was to the flaws in his work when I thought I was just a casual fan at the time - but it's starting to seem like somehow he had managed to keep away from the raging, frothing hate that people had for his work.

Now when it's so easy to put something up on YouTube, or Twitter, or Facebook, or any of the other social media sites, and with the changing attitudes towards gender representation in media on both sides of the camera, maybe he's getting more criticism now than he can deal with. Add to that the predictable hispter-ish backlash against the MCU (which is annoying because when I'm critical, I just look like a hipster douche criticizing the MCU just to look cool) and the fact those hipsters are too young to be Buffy/Angel/Firefly fans (maybe Firefly, as it's possible to watch the entire series in a single day AND it's not dependent on understanding the pop culture of the time, like Angel and particularly Buffy are) so he's not getting the same defense from his former demographic either?

I dunno. Seems like a bad situation for him to be in, and he seems to be handling it in a less-than-stellar way, which is compounding the issue. (see: quitting Twitter because people were bitching about the Black Widow stuff in AoU)

I think it's less to do with social media and more to do with the fact that Whedon was used to having a small but voluble following but discovered that mobs are fickle and tear down their former hero. One of the other false impressions that Whedon has is that he is a great auteur whose works are great art to millions. When the reality is that his works are entertaining to millions and are considered to be important by a much smaller number of people. I doubt if more than 20% of the audience of his avenger films could name him as director. In short Whedon thinks his name is worth the same as Spielberg or Scorsese when it isnt. There is nothing wrong with producing great entertainment but that doesn't give the same sort of negotiating power as Spielberg.

 

[JimB]

I was their sort of conciliatory for a while... We do not discuss our thing.

Consigliere. You know, like the Godfather.