You would think that Joss Whedon is feeling the pressure of writing and directing The Avengers 2. As awesome as The Avengers was the fans are going to want to see something better in the sequel. It seems that Whedon is confident though that we're going to like what he has to offer, saying that the outline that he turned into Marvel consists of “seven things worth the price of admission.” In a recent interview with Total Film, the director was asked about the pressure of making this epic sequel, and here's what he had to say...
The only pressure is the pressure that is there every time I do a new project. Is it going to be good? It is going to be different? Is there even a reason to make another one? Is there a reason for this to be my next thing? Can I pull it off? I am not going to try and match the box office of the first one because that would be bonkers. Yes, there is a certain level of safety [knowing there's a huge audience] - because now people know about The Avengers and they like the characters so it probably won't completely crash and burn. But you don't want to just get by and do something that is merely OK. If I am going to dedicate three years of my short life to this then I want to do something that I have never done before. So I think of The Avengers 2 as a glorious challenge - it is a sequel, yes, but how can it be different? Of course, the pressure that I don't feel, my body internalises. It happens all the time. I was comfortable making the first Avengers, but I didn't sleep during it.
Whedon went on to discuss the success of the first Avengers movie, and how it affects his attitude on the other film projects he was never able to get off the ground in the past, like Wonder Woman.
You know, part of the process of dealing with the success of The Avengers has been discovering a vein of anger that I didn't even know existed in me. You do begin to think about when they let you do it, and you get it right, and then you think back to all of the times they didn't let you do it. But I am my own worst enemy. I'm not really good at selling myself or standing up for myself and I have a pathological fear of confrontation, which is not really useful in this industry. There are plenty of times when I could have controlled my own career more than I did. All of these frustrations, and all of these setbacks, definitely surfaced again after The Avengers. So, yeah, you know what? Now I'm really pissed [laughs]. It used to just be my life and my living, and that was fine, but now I feel a bit... See? You see? But I know you can't live your life like that. You have to stay positive.
Staying positive is always the key in any situation. I bet the other studios he has worked with, like Warner Bros., are kicking themselves in the ass now for not letting him make his movies. I'm sure Whedon enjoys knowing that.
The Avengers 2 is set to be released on May 1st, 2015, and I have no doubt that it's going to be incredible!