Whedon’s Shoes: Potential Directors for Marvel’s Infinity Wars
As Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron approaches, Joss Whedon may be nearing the end of his tenure piloting the massive ship that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At the very least, it seems he is reluctant to direct the two upcoming Avengers: Infinity War movies coming in 2018 and 2019.
Whedon has been so successful helming the Marvel Cinematic Universe that it made us wonder: If not Joss, then who?
James Gunn
James Gunn was the director of Guardians of the Galaxy, so it’s an easy transition to keep the Infinity War movies in-house, particularly since the Guardians will likely be involved in those films. Gunn has already proven he can skillfully blend action and comedy plus he’s already built trust with many of the characters involved.
Christopher Miller and Phil Lord
Miller and Lord are the tag team responsible for the current Jump Street films, which have been surprisingly hilarious and action-packed. They’ve also been involved with The Lego Movie and have plans for The Lego Movie 2 and Lego Batman, so they’ve got some superhero cred. The Avengers would be a bigger ship to steer than their previous ventures, but the two seem up to the task.
Katheryn Bigelow
Bigelow is one of the best directors out there right now, having skillfully helmed dramatic action films like K19: The Widowmaker, The Hurt Locker, and Zero Dark Thirty. Getting Bigelow to direct the pair of galactic Avengers romps would be a huge get for Marvel Studios and would certainly infuse grit and depth that the films haven’t seen before. Whether she could also handle the humor so ingrained in the films is another matter.
Justin Lin
Lin is best known for his work on several Fast and Furious movies, which certainly means he has the chops for action. He’s also responsible for The Conjuring and Annapolis, which demonstrate his ability to mix in some dramatic depth. The kicker for Lin, however, is that he’s currently working on Star Trek 3, which gives him nerd and sci-fi cred. Pitting the Avengers against Thanos will take both of those credentials.
Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie knows action. Guy Ritchie also knows humor. His films like Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels have proven that. Ritchie’s humor, however, is much darker than the Marvel Cinematic Universe has seen. It’s more adult and brutal, but he’s also successfully directed a pair of Sherlock Holmes films and has an established working relationship with Robert Downey, Jr. Ritchie would also bring his own sense of style to the action sequences, which are always welcome.
Guillermo Del Toro
Del Toro’s body of work is both varied and successful. He’s worked with a variety of stories, actors, and genres. He has a load of superhero cred with Blade II and both Hellboy films, he helped write the recent Hobbit trilogy, and was the driving force behind Pan’s Labyrinth. Two words, however, tell every fan that Del Toro would do justice with the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Pacific Rim. He can cancel my apocalypse anytime.
At the end of the day, maybe Joss Whedon will ride off into the sunset having begun something truly brilliant with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And since Castle is so terrible this season, maybe it will get canceled and with both Whedon and Nathan Fillion freed up, we’ll finally get more Firefly.
Well, a geek can always dream.
