Joss Whedon has revealed that it is unlikely that he will return to direct Avengers: Infinity War because he wants to concentrate on his own projects.
Joss Whedon
Whedon will be back in the director's chair for Avengers: Age of Ultron after steering Avengers Assemble to critical and commercial success back in 2012. The filmmaker says he couldn't imagine himself returning to helm the Infinity Wars, which are scheduled to hit the big screen in 2018 and 2019.
Speaking to Empire, the director said: "I couldn't imagine doing this again," he said. "It's enormously hard, and it be, by then, a good five years since I created anything that was completely my own. So it's very doubtful that I would take on the two-part Infinity War movie that would eat up the next four years of my life."
"I obviously still want to be a part of the Marvel Universe - I love these guys - but it ain't easy. This year has been more like running three shows than any year of my life. It is bonkers."
There has been talk of Whedon leaving the Avengers franchise behind for some time, and the likes of James Gunn and Anthony & Joe Russo - who were behind Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain America: The Winter Solider - have been linked to the director's chair.
However, Gunn and the Russo brothers do have other Marvel projects in the pipeline as Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and Captain America: Civil War are both in the pipeline in the next couple of years.
Whedon has written and directed Avengers: Age of Ultron, which comes three years after the billion-dollar success of Avengers Assemble - it is still the highest grossing superhero movie and the highest grossing Marvel movie. Having said that, Age of Ultron is promising to be bigger and darker than its predecessor.
Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, and Jeremy Renner are back as Iron Man, Black Widow, Captain America, Thor, Hulk and Hawkeye. We will also be introduced to Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, James Spader, and Paul Bettany as Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Ultron, and The Vision.