No Loki For The Avengers 2? Boo.

Looks like we'll have to make do without everybody's favourite Marvel villain, Loki, in The Avengers 2.

Joss 'The Great' Whedon has confirmed that Tom Hiddleston won't be appearing in the sequel.

"Everyone is going to be looking for the Loki-Hulk smash moment and you'll be looking for 'quim'," the writer-director explained to Empire.

"First of all, imitating what I did before is the surest way to do it not as well. Second of all, Loki's not there to say those terrible things. Although I do think we should bring the word back, not as an insult, it's just a nice word."

The good news, though, is that we'll see Hiddleston return later in the year in Thor: The Dark World, which arrives in UK cinemas on October 30 and in the US on November 8.

The Avengers 2 is scheduled hit cinemas on May 1, 2015.

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The Great Whedon Wants To 'Do' Batman

Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy raised the bar incredibly high when it comes to superhero movies.

But that hasn't deterred Joss Whedon from saying that he'd love to get his hands on the character.

When asked which character he'd most like to 'do' at the Film Society of Lincoln Centre's 'An Evening with Joss Whedon', the writer-director said: "If I could get my hands on absolutely anybody it would be Batman. (audience applause) He's a Marvel character in the DC universe. And if I could 'do' any, probably Thor, because face it, those arms… (laughs)"

Whedon also cautiously spoke about cult favourite Firefly, saying he'd love to revisit the series, but admitting it's unlikely to happen:

"Right now I'm happy to say everybody is working doing good jobs. There's a real fear of 'The Monkey's Paw,' you know? You bring it back to life and it isn't the same. Even if it's GREAT and it isn't the same. I'm dying to get on a ship with those guys again, but I'm also doing yet another goddamn huge ensemble movie ['The Avengers 2']. Why can't I do a movie about just one guy? So right now I can't even access that part of my brain.

"If all the planets align that would be great, but I'm not going to do what I did the first time and move heaven and earth to make it happen."

But one thing he wasn't able to chat about was the current conflict over the cinematic rights to the character Quicksilver.

"That's not something I can really talk about," he told the audience when asked about the controversy, adding: "Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are going to be in the movie and they're going to be AWESOME."

Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing hits cinemas on 14 June, while The Avengers 2 is penciled for a 1 May, 2015 release.

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Whedon Talks Avengers 2 Villain & Star Wars

So now we know that Avengers 2 will feature Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver (we're ignoring the X-Men: Days of Future Past confusion, it hurts our heads), attention has turned to who the villain of the piece might be.

Though Thanos seems to be the obvious choice, The Great Whedon has already hinted that he might be too big a big bad for the sequel.

The bad news is that he continues to be vague and mysterious in his latest interview with Empire:

How are you going to avoid the usual sequel pitfalls? Often they become all about the villain at the expense of the stars.

"Yes, that always makes me cranky. I'm very excited about the villain, and have a lot to say about him. But if you watch my shows, the one thing I've never been very good at is guest stars, because I've always been interested in the ensemble. With The Avengers, I'm still most fascinated by them."

[If you're incredibly keen on this sort of thing, you'll have noticed Joss says "him" there, which means the villain is not female. In fact, it's most likely to be male. So that's something to be aware of.]

"The other thing is, you don't try to top it," Whedon adds. "I know I will never make a moment as pleasing in a film as Hulk and Loki. You can't chase that dragon. If you try to do exactly the same thing, the chances you're going to do it better are very slim, and the only reason for me to devote three years to making another Avengers movie is the hope of making a better one."

See what we mean? Knowing Whedon like we do, though, we doubt he'll go for the obvious.

The writer-director also chatted about being a little disappointed about not doing Star Wars: Episode VII, telling the magazine: "There was a moment of rue that I was already committed, I'm not going to lie, because who didn't want to do that as a kid? But I think they got the right guy so just knowing that I'm going to enjoy the film when it comes out is great. I don't even have to do any work. Can J.J. also make Avengers...?"

Hm. We have a feeling that anyone other than The Great Whedon in charge of The Avengers 2 would cause internet uproar.

Avengers 2 is pencilled for a May 1, 2015 release.

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Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D Will Be Linked To Marvel Movies

Joss 'The Great' Whedon has confirmed that his new S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series will be closely linked to the Marvel movieverse.

Speaking to TV Fanatic, the writer/director/all-round genius revealed that the upcoming ABC drama could contain hints about future films.

"We're absolutely on top of all the movies," he said. "We never contradict [or] replicate - we will be flowing in between them, maybe occasionally we'll throw something in that foreshadows [or] echoes, but we're very much beholden to the Marvel cinematic universe."

Meanwhile, ABC president Paul Lee has said that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is "driven by character" and has "relationships at the heart of it".

"Everything has to push character forward, including action," Whedon affirmed. "We don't want 'spectacle' characters, we want... spectacle that addresses character. We always want the two to mix."

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will air on Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC this autumn.

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The Great Whedon Teases The Avengers 2

Joss Whedon has given a hint at his grand plan for the Avengers trilogy.

And those who were expecting Thanos to be the film's big bad might be disappointed.

It looks like the writer/director is saving the Mad Titan for the end of the trilogy, telling DesdeHollywood: "Well, Thanos is more powerful [than The Avengers]. He's so powerful he's not someone you just trot out and then you punch him.

"Like he did in the comics, you want him to be threading through the universe and to save the big finale for the big finale. He is definitely a part of what I've got going on."

And there's more. Whedon went on to discuss the possibility of Robert Downey Jr. hanging up his suit of armour following Iron Man 3.

“I am not the guy who has to worry about him being replaced. He is Iron Man at this point," he said, comfortingly. "When I heard that he was cast I knew that something had just changed, and I usually don't know stuff like that. I was like 'Now we are in a new phase.' The way he embodies it… I love working with him. He is so perfect for it, Shane [Black] captures it so perfectly in this movie.

"I want him to play it forever. The great thing is that he has a flying metal suit. So it's not like those Charles Bronson or Roger Moore movies where you're like 'Dude, you can barely stand.' He’s got some fight in him. At the same time, if Robert decides to hang it up, he has a perfectly good excuse."

So, what will be in store for Downey Jr. and his fellow heroes in the next Avengers installment?

“The thing about the Avengers is that they are very powerful, but they're not very stable," said Whedon. "So, there will definitely be some people that will shake them up in the next installment."

Two of those characters could be Magneto's offspring Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, if what the director told Yahoo! Movies recently is anything to go by. Check this out for a whopper of a hint:

"I’ve been writing and meeting with actors and we’re starting to storyboard, all the preliminary processes. This is the part where it’s all still fun," Whedon teased.

"I’ve got these two characters, two of my favourite characters from the comic book, a brother-sister act. They’re in the movie."

Is everybody else as excited as we are? Give us your casting thoughts for Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver!

The Avengers 2 is due out on May 1, 2015.

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S.H.I.E.L.D Becomes 'Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD' & Other News

We're pleased to report that things are going great guns with Joss Whedon's Avengers TV spin-off.

ABC has announced that the show formerly known as S.H.I.E.L.D will now be titled Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD, which to be honest seems like a bit of a mouthful but we're sure there's a good reason for the change.

Somewhat more excitingly, a synopsis for the series has been released:

“Joss Whedon shows us not all heroes are super with Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD.

“Fresh from his role in the summer’s box office smash, Marvel’s The Avengers, Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) returns to the worldwide law enforcement organisation SHIELD. He puts together a small, highly trained, team of agents to tackle the cases that haven’t been classified yet: the new, the strange and the unknown. That team consists of straight arrow agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), an expert in combat and espionage; pilot and martial artist Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen); and brilliant if socially awkward scientists Agent Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Agent Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge). They’ll be joined by civilian new recruit and computer hacker Skye (Chloe Bennet).

“Prepare for an epic adventure that showcases the hope and wonder of the human spirit. This is a world of superheroes, aliens and the unusual; of action, spectacle and world-spanning stories. The show will speak to the human condition through the lens of our very human, non-powered SHIELD agents – that together we are greater than we are apart, and that we can make a difference in the world.

“Executive produced and co-written by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen (Dollhouse, Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog), Jeffrey Bell (Angel, Alias) and Jeph Loeb (Smallville, Lost, Heroes) comes Marvel’s first live-action TV series, Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD.”

On first reading, we're a little wary of the somewhat schmaltzy second paragraph, but if anyone can turn schmaltz into spectacular it's The Great Whedon.

Speaking of, Whedon has promised that the show will share the style of Marvel's movies - though presumably not the budget.

"The idea of the Little Guy is something that I am very fierce about, and there has never been a better Little Guy than Clark Gregg," he told Deadline last month.

"That intrigued me - this world around the superhero community. It's the more intimate stories that belong on television that... can really tap into the visual style and ethos, and even some of the mythology, of the Marvel movies.

"How much it's actually seeding or hinting or reacting to what's going on in the movies is something we'll let play out as we go," he added.

"For me the most important thing is that people fall in love with it on its own merits, rather than constantly asking, 'Is there gonna be an Avenger [appearing]?'"

Shooting on the pilot recently wrapped and the project is now under consideration for a series pick-up.

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The Great Whedon Reckons Hulk Movie Is "Tricky"

If anybody could do anything well, it's Joss Whedon.

But even our hero thinks it would be difficult to get Bruce Banner right on the big screen, explaining why so many have tried and failed.

"It would be very, very hard," said Whedon when asked about the possibility of making a good Hulk film during an appearance at the Glasgow Film Festival.

"Hulk is a tricky son of a bitch. He's the Claudio of superheroes.

"Because the problem is it's a very popular character, but it's not a superhero. Half of it's a superhero, half of it's a werewolf. And you can't structure it like a superhero movie, you can't light it like a superhero movie.

"How do you develop that? It would be extremely difficult. The one thing you would have in your favour would be Mark Ruffalo. But right now I don't know if they have plans to do that or not, because he works so well as part of a greater whole, but by himself, it's tough. I don't envy the guys who went before."

Oh, but Joss. Wouldn't you love to give it a go?

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The Great Whedon Says S.H.I.E.L.D Is "Hopeful"

Shooting on the S.H.I.E.L.D pilot has wrapped, and we're pleased to report that writer and director Joss 'The Great' Whedon has stayed true to the series' comic book roots.

Speaking to TVLine, Whedon revealed that the series, should it get picked up of course, will stay true to Marvel - adding that it has a "hopeful" tone.

"I’m excited about the show because it’s a very hopeful show," he said.

"It’s not about murder, and it’s not about crime, and it’s not people looking into their own belly buttons. It’s about people who are trying to help each other, and that’s one of the things I loved about comic books. They had costumes and the villains were cool [but] they stood for something, and I like doing a show that does that."

"We’re trying very hard to be true to [Marvel's] ethos and also to the structure of their universe. So it is definitely a Marvel show," he continued.

But with the old, must come the new. Most of S.H.I.E.L.D's main characters are new creations, with the notable exception of Clark Gregg's much-loved Agent Phil Coulson.

"Right now, I want to involve people in the characters that we’ve created for the show and then we’ll worry about [the other stuff]," explained Whedon.

Though he did add that fans hopeful for a cameo from a familiar face or two might get a nice surprise. "There’s a little bit of talk of that," said the director, revealing he's hoping Cobie Smulders will find a break whilst filming Season 9 of How I Met Your Mother to put in an appearance as Agent Maria Hill: "If we can get a hold of her anytime, we will."

S.H.I.E.L.D. stars Ming-Na Wen, Elizabeth Henstridge, Iain De Caestecker, Brett Dalton and Chloe Bennet. An air date and series pick-up have yet to be confirmed.

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Will We See A Dr Horrible Sequel In 2013?

With Joss 'The Great' Whedon (all hail, all hail, etc, etc) working his nails to the bone on The Avengers sequel and the S.H.I.E.L.D TV series and, presumably, managing to have himself a life too, we wouldn't have thought that he'd have much time for anything else.

But it seems the word 'workaholic' means nothing to our hero.

The writer/director/genius wants to film a Dr Horrible sequel this year, too.

Blimey. We're weeping for him.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Joss revealed that a follow-up to his 2008 online musical Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is in the works.

"We really want to shoot it [in 2013]," he said. "We feel strong about the idea and we have a bunch of stuff written."

But Whedon, being only human, admits that he may not find the time for his labour of love, quipping: "I have a certain bandwidth issue I am trying to overcome."

Going on to discuss S.H.I.E.L.D, Joss has said he'll be involved in the series as his "schedule allows", explaining that The Avengers 2 is his priority.

"I have to maintain a fine balance between not hurting The Avengers... and [also] not be the guy who shows up once a month and undoes everything that's been done by everyone else," he explained.  

"One of the great things about having worked for so damn long is that there are so many people that I truly trust."
Whedon's brother Jed will work alongside Melissa Tancharoen and Jeffrey Bell on the day-to-day production of S.H.I.E.L.D, which will star Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson, alongside Ming-Na, Elizabeth Henstridge, Iain De Caestecker and Brett Dalton, with Whedon himself serving as executive producer and also direct the show's pilot episode.

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The Great Whedon Discusses Coulson Death

While we love him greatly, Joss Whedon's ruthless butchering of Agent Phil Coulson in The Avengers was a shocking and emotional moment for many.

The writer/director, who has something of a reputation for slaying his characters (see what we did there?), has had to defend Marvel's decision yet again, this time at a screening of the film at the Directors Guild in Hollywood.

"Coulson's death was mandated in the first meeting by Kevin Feige," he explained.

"I can't say that enough times. Apparently I have some kind of reputation that we won't discuss right now, but I do love to kill people.

"Clark himself said when we were shooting that it was obvious that it had to happen, otherwise all of this becomes irresponsible. There's no toll or actual downside to this very bad idea of bringing all of these people together.

"As a film it's just irresponsible. That's why we're bringing him back for a S.H.I.E.L.D. series."

There's no news yet on how Coulson will return… or in what guise, though Clark Gregg enjoyed winding up fans and Jeph Loeb during the Marvel Television panel at New York Comic Con this October.

"I just want to say because I won't have another chance to ask this - 'Have you heard of a Life Model Decoy?'" he joked.

"I don't know if you've read the theories from the people on Twitter, but there's this guy called the Vision. I don't know if you saw the UK version of the DVD, but the blade wasn't coming out of his chest. There's a tesseract!

"All around the globe you can see graffiti, bumper stickers that say 'Coulson Lives!' You have the power, Jeph. I feel like we could make this happen right now!"

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No Loki For The Avengers 2? NOOOOO!

There's a theory doing the rounds. A theory we don't like very much. Some are speculating that Tom Hiddleston will not appear as legendary Marvel villain Loki in the Avengers sequel.
We know.

And the worst bit is that the speculation has come from the man himself, meaning it actually has some basis in actual, real life.

The actor admitted he may not be asked to reprise his role as Loki in the movie's sequel, revealing to MSN that he has not spoken to director Joss Whedon about the follow-up.

He went on to say that he believes audiences would prefer to see a new villain in the film.

How could he think that?

"I don't know. And that really is the honest answer. I know I've been known for obfuscation in other quarters, but I have no idea," Tom said when asked about revisiting the part.

"I haven't spoken to Joss. He's definitely doing it. So I suspect not, only because I think that probably the audiences are tired of Loki being the bad guy. Maybe the Avengers need somebody else to fight. But I'd love to be part of it again."

The good news is that Hiddleston will return as Loki for the upcoming Thor: The Dark World, which arrives in cinemas on November 8, 2013 - more than a year and a half before Avengers 2.

In other Avengers-related news, Joss Whedon has revealed that an early draft of the screenplay had featured much-loved character Wasp.

"There was a little bit of time where we thought we might not actually get Scarlett [Johansson]," Whedon said during a Q&A after a screening of the film at the Directors Guild of America in Hollywood.

"There was a very Waspy draft that I wrote. But it was way too Waspy. I was like, 'She's adorable! I'm just going to watch her!'

An unnamed second villain was also previously intended to work with Loki in the film, but The Great Whedon refused to reveal the character's identity.

"I'm not going to tell you [who the second villain was], because that person might crop up another time," he added.

"But I definitely felt like, 'I've got Earth's mightiest heroes. I've got four of the biggest, baddest, toughest guys out there and I've got one effete British character actor'. They believed very strongly that they didn't want to add any more mythology, I think was the thing."

The writer/director/all-round-genius mentioned the ever changing line-up of the Avengers comic, teasing that the movie sequel will introduce a host of new heroes.

Avengers 2 is scheduled for release on May 1, 2015, while Whedon's upcoming TV show S.H.I.E.L.D is set to hit the small screen in autumn 2013.

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Amy Acker Hopeful For S.H.I.E.L.D. Role

Joss 'The Great' Whedon (all hail, all hail, etc, etc) is known for having favourites among the acting community, and using them over and over again.

So it wouldn't surprise us in the slightest if we saw a few Buffy, Angel, Firefly or Dollhouse alum pop up in his new S.H.I.E.L.D. series.

And we know at least one actress is keen to get involved.

Speaking to TVLine, Amy Acker (who has appeared in Whedon's Angel, Dollhouse and Much Ado About Nothing) said she's unlikely to be a regular cast member, but would love to guest on the show.

"I'm in between the age ranges of the [regular] parts," she explained. "Hopefully I'll get to do something.

"I think they're putting together a pretty great cast. I'm excited to watch it."

The great cast she's referring to includes Clark Gregg (The Avengers), Ming-Na Wen (ER), Iain De Caestecker (The Fades) and Elizabeth Henstridge (Hollyoaks).

Fellow Whedon favourite Summer Glau (Firefly, Serenity, Angel, Dollhouse) has previously expressed a wish to appear in the series, telling IGN: "I have my fingers crossed behind my back.

"I try not to say anything to Joss about anything he's doing because he has so many actors, and I know we all want to work for him. So I don't know, but if I could be a part of it in any way, of course, you know I want to."

Sigh… what we would give to be part of Whedon's inner circle. We'd do almost anything. (Seriously Joss. Call us.)

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