As Avengers Passes $1 Billion in Box Office Revenue, Joss Whedon Thanks His Fans

Posted on May 18, 2012

Joss Whedon and Samuel Jackson on The Avengers

The Avengers has now broken all kinds of box office records, zooming past one billion dollars in ticket sales. Writer/director Joss Whedon has been catapulted straight into screenwriting and directing superstardom. Joss thanked his longtime fans for their support in a heartfelt and very funny post on Whedonesque.

Joss wrote the post last week, just after the amazing opening numbers were posted and the glowing reviews were in. He talked about how his life will be different after The Avengers, and shares his thoughts on his next movie project:

People have told me that this matters, that my life is about to change. I am sure that is true. And change is good -- change is exciting. I think -- not to jinx it -- that I may finally be recognized at Comiccon. Imagine! Also, with my percentage of "the Avengers" gross, I can afford to buy... [gets call from agent. Weeps manfully. Resumes typing.] ...a fine meal. But REALLY fine, with truffles and s#!+. And I can get a studio to finance my dream project, the reboot of "Air Bud" that we all feel is so long overdue. (He could play Jai Alai! Think of the emotional ramifications of JAI ALAI!!!!)

He then talks about what his fans have meant to him, especially the long-time fans who have been with him in the Whedonverse since Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and stuck around to enjoy Angel, Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, Firefly, Serenity, Dollhouse and Cabin in the Woods:

What doesn't change is anything that matters. What doesn't change is that I've had the smartest, most loyal, most passionate, most articulate group of -- I'm not even gonna say fans. I'm going with "peeps" -- that any cult oddity such as my bad self could have dreamt of. When almost no one was watching, when people probably should have STOPPED watching, I've had three constants: my family and friends, my collaborators (often the same), and y'all. A lot of stories have come out about my "dark years", and how I'm "unrecognized"... I love these stories, because they make me seem super-important, but I have never felt the darkness (and I'm ALL about my darkness) that they described. Because I have so much. I have people, in my life, on this site, in places I've yet to discover, that always made me feel the truth of success: an artist and an audience communicating. Communicating to the point of collaborating. I've thought, "maybe I'm over; maybe I've said my piece". But never with fear. Never with rancor. Because of y'all. Because you knew me when. If you think topping a box office record compares with someone telling you your work helped them through a rough time, you're probably new here.

Joss is an amazing writer and director, and his success on a global commercial scale is well-deserved. We just hope he agrees to write and direct Avengers 2.

Photo: Zade Rosenthal/MVLFFLLC/Marvel