Why Joss Whedon Won’t Direct Avengers: Infinity War

Joss Whedon has explained why ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ will be his last time directing the Marvel super-team, calling it “a young man’s game.”

It had long been murmured that Whedon would not be continuing with the mega-franchise beyond the upcoming second installment, and this was recently made official when Marvel confirmed reports that ‘Captain America: the Winter Soldier’ directors Joe and Anthony Russo will direct the next two films in the series, ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Parts 1 and 2.

Naturally, whenever any director chooses to part ways with a property they helped to create, rumours of behind-the-scenes drama ensue, but in this instance it seems Whedon has a very simple reason for bowing out: physical and mental exhaustion.

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A new profile piece at Entertainment Weekly describes meeting up with Whedon in the final days of post-production on ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron,’ having begun work on the film more than a year earlier.

The 50-year old filmmaker laments, “Two days from now, I will finish this. I moved next door [to temporary quarters on the studio lot], said goodbye to my kids…. I wake up, come here, and then I do this, and then I go to sleep. That’s it.”

Later, Whedon elaborates, “Every movie I have ever made has been an ensemble piece of increasingly enormous proportions. That many balls in the air, it’s only going to get bigger with Infinity War. I’m not going to be able to give it what I would need to. It’s a young man’s game.”

Despite this, Whedon appears to remain on good terms with Marvel. In fact, it has also been revealed at a Disney press conference that he has had fairly considerable input into the direction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since ‘Avengers Assemble.’

For starters, the reason we haven’t seen Mark Ruffallo’s Hulk or Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye since the 2012 blockbuster was because Whedon requested they not be used again until ‘Age of Ultron,’ as he had “very big plans” for those two characters in his sequel.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, early reviews have emphasised the size and strength of Hawkeye’s role this time around. (A refreshing change, as many - Jeremy Renner included - voiced their displeasure at how small a role he had in ‘Avengers Assemble.’)

Secondly, it was at Whedon’s suggestion that Thanos appeared only briefly in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ as opposed to being the primary villain; “I thought we needed to thread him in more gently.”

Whedon has also indicated elsewhere that, while he’s done with ‘Avengers,’ he may not be averse to working with Marvel again - which has led some to ponder that Whedon (noted for his outspoken feminist views) might be a likely candidate to helm 2018′s ‘Captain Marvel’ - although it has been confirmed this character does not appear in ‘Age of Ultron.’

‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ opens in UK cinemas on 23 April.

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Picture Credit: Marvel