The announcement today of Marvel comics and ABC television in the States green lighting and naming the proposed Avengers spin-off TV show S.H.E.I.L.D has been greeted by more fervour and excitement that TV shows ever really get.
It might be that this summer’s movie was easily the biggest and possibly best cinematic outing this year. More likely though, it’s putting the film’s director and fan favourite Joss Whedon front and centre of the project.
With cult favourite shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly and Dollhouse to his name, Whedon is easily one of the best proponents of TV drama there is. That he’s returning to the genre, even in some small way, is an incredibly exciting prospect for his legions of fans (i.e. the entire internet).
With Joss Whedon having netted the studio nearly $1.5 billion with the cinematic Avengers romp, his word is now absolutely law when it comes to all things Avengers.
Whereas Joss Whedon’s previous TV escapades have always been held back by a lack of confidence from the studio suits (be that lack of money, creative control or faith in the final product), Whedon will now be able to flex his creative muscles with the backing of Marvel behind him. Safe in the knowledge he’s their new golden boy and with a contact for The Avengers 2 in his pocket, he’ll finally be able to tell the stories he wants to without one hand tied behind his back.
That’s not to say that the show will be costing millions of dollars and episode, as with the structure being around the SHEILD organisation itself, it already gives the show leeway as to how it wants to play it.
Possibly just as good news as the show being given the green light with Joss Whedon attached is the fact that both brother Jed Whedon and his partner Maurissa Tancharoen are signed up on the executive producing level.
While both unknown names to most, these two were part of both the Dr Horrible’s Sing Along Blog web videos and the ill-fated but massively underrated Dollhouse TV show. That they’ve been brought on board, along with Angel showrunner Jeffery Bell, means that not only is Joss not alone anymore, but it gives SHEILD a fantastic creative team behind it.
Those faithful Whedonites have something else to cheer about too with the announcement of S.H.E.I.L.D, the possibility of familiar faces coming back. Whedon’s often known for collaborating again and again with actors he knows, casting whoever he can into whatever roles he can spare.
An extreme example it may be, but when making his low budget version of Shakespearean tale Much Ado About Nothing he gilled the cast with past acquaintances such as Amy Acker, Nathan Fillion, Fran Kranz and Alexis Denisof. We can all hope that he manages to squeeze a few of those into S.H.E.I.L.D.
Boil all of those facts with the chance for more, always sparkling, Whedon dialogue and characters and the ingredients going in to this show couldn’t possibly be better.
While no date has been given, production will apparently begin immediately. The day the pilot episode airs can’t come quickly enough.
FemaleFirst Cameron Smith
Tagged in Joss Whedon TV Avengers