Whedon almost set for The Avengers

In a case of terrible timing around April Fool’s Day this year, reports teasingly linked Buffy creator Joss Whedon with Marvel’s The Avengers flick.

But what was assumed to be a mean-spirited joke (we hate April Fool’s!), has actually turned out to be a piece of legitimate news, and an amazing win for fanboys everywhere if it all pans out.

Deadline report that Whedon is officially in final negotiations to helm the Avengers film for Marvel. Beyond that, few details are available, with the negotiations in that delicate phase inbetween giving Whedon a pen and then getting him to scribble away a few years of his life.

Whedon’s not had much luck with the big screen – his Buffy movie was savaged, he wasn’t happy with how his Alien: Resurrection script was directed, and his (awesome) Serenity failed to make enough money to warrant a franchise revival. Meanwhile, his Wonder Woman adap never made it out the door.

Hopefully The Avengers will put that all to rights (c'mon, if anybody needs any vengeance here, it's Whedon).

With all three main players – Iron Man, Thor and Captain America – cast in their own respective projects, it’s easy to see why Marvel are keen to lock them all in for The Avengers as soon as possible.

And we can’t think of anybody we’d rather helm that adventure.

Can you?