Joss Whedon Clarifies "Sexism" Comments; Chances Of Him Directing Captain Marvel

A few days ago, Digital Spy posted an interview they conducted last summer with director Joss Whedon while he was on the set of Avengers: Age Of Ultron. In it, Whedon delivered some sharp criticism regarding the lack of female-led superhero movies. Here's a portion of it:

"It's a phenomenon in the industry that we call 'stupid people.' There is genuine, recalcitrant, intractable sexism, and old-fashioned quiet misogyny that goes on. You hear 'Oh, [female superheroes] don't work because of these two bad ones that were made eight years ago', there's always an excuse."

His comments immediately went viral. When Whedon saw the response he felt compelled to reach out and clarify his comments. They now seem a bit dated when you factor in everything that has happened since last summer. Since then, Marvel announced a Captain Marvel movie, Wonder Woman got a solo film, Lucy became a hit and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 dominated the domestic box office.

 "I just thought, I sounded very harsh," Whedon told Buzzfeed. "And then [Marvel announced], 'We're going to make Captain Marvel. We're going to make Black Panther. We're going to shake it up.' I was just like, great! Now I just sound mean and bitter. But, you know, there's a lot to be mean and bitter about."

Whedon says he was aware of Marvel's plan to make a Captain Marvel film at the time of those comments, but it wasn't a sure thing. He believes that James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy actually helped paved the way for Captain Marvel to happen. "Honestly, you know, Guardians [of the Galaxy] might have helped it," Whedon explained. "Just because that was outside what was considered to be their box and did so well that— Well, let's put it this way: If a raccoon can carry a movie, then they believe maybe even a woman can."

After Avengers 2, Whedon will have to begin looking for a new project as he is reportedly not directing Avengers 3 and 4. Could he direct Captain Marvel? "Um, I would never rule anything out, because I like working here," he replied. "By the same token, the biggest thing for me is that I need to do something that I create myself. It's been way too long since I created a universe." Whedon says he'd like his next project to focus on one character, not a team.

"Captain Marvel I don't know as well," Whedon added. "There have been a few [versions] of her. I have the first issue of Ms. Marvel, back when she was that, and had the Farrah hair. My only issue with her is that she always felt sort of on top. She was very driven. A winner. I always like to dig into the soil of things to find my heroes, if I can."

With the success of female-driven films like Scarlett Johansson's Lucy and Jennifer Lawrence's The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, does Whedon see things inside the industry making it easier for female-led films to be made? "It's a struggle," he said. "You'll always be able to rattle off the names of the female-driven genre films, and the rest are all male, and generally white men."

Avengers: Age Of Ultron arrives in theaters May 1, 2015.