Joss Whedon is considered to be one of the directors who put Marvel on the map. You would think that with a title such as that, he would never leave that gravy train, but you would be wrong. Whether it was the lackluster reception of Age of Ultron or not, Whedon says he is done doing Marvel films.
Joss Whedon is a master storyteller and has a knack for making a film with an ensemble cast work well. He has had many home runs in his career, with Firefly (although it was cancelled prematurely) Serenity, and Avengers at the top of his greatest hits list. Dialog and balance are his biggest strengths, and it shows in his films. We know that no director can stay at the top forever, but for a time 'Joss was Boss' to quote How It Should Have Ended.
Age of Ultron hit theaters to mixed reviews, with some saying that it was the worst film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a franchise that boasted 10 movies up until the release of AOU. It wasn't a bad film, but it did have some pacing issues, and tended to lose audiences at times. There are some great things in this film, the social commentary (we create evil, thus have to combat it to right the wrongs), the film focused on protecting the innocent (something that Man of Steel received criticism for), Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye, and the Thor humor are great. This movie has some major issues as well. There are way too many characters, Ultron wasn't menacing enough, the Twins accents were not good, and a lot of the humor is just ok.
Some would still argue, that Joss would still be the man that Marvel would turn to for Avengers: Infinity War Pt. 1 & 2, but you would be wrong. Whedon casually bowed out, and Marvel gave Anthony and Joe Russo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War) the opportunity. I was shocked to find out that Whedon has washed his hands of Marvel.
In a recent Oxford Union Q&A session (via CBR), Whedon officially confirms that he is done with Marvel films, "No. You know I was their sort of Consigliere for a while... We do not discuss our thing... [audience laughter] But, I sort of had my finger in all of the films in the second phase, but then I just had to concentrate only on Ultron, and sort of know when it was done I was just going to stop. So I made a completely clean break - not because we had a falling out - just because I was like, "I can't..." If I was still there going, "Well, here are my thoughts on this film," I'd be there every day. I wouldn't do anything else because there are a lot of films, and it is a lot of fun. It's very seductive. When you can put your little fairy dust on things and just improve them slightly, and they actually listen to you... I was a script doctor for a long time, and the part where they listen to you was very rare; so it was very important for my own self to go "we can still be friends," but..."
You can read the entire Q&A session at the CBR link above. The aftereffects of Joss not being a part of the MCU remain to be seen, but there is little doubt that the director sounds worried.
The next Marvel film to hit theaters will be Captain America: Civil War, which is currently in post-production, on May 6, 2016.
