Marvel's S.H.I.E.L.D. Will Be "Very Joss Whedon"

At an event at the Saban Free Clinic in Los Angeles where ABC president Paul Lee was being honored, he took some time out to speak to reporters about the forthcoming television adaptation of Marvel's S.H.I.E.L.D., being run by Marvel's The Avengers director Joss Whedon. And what he said probably shouldn't surprise anyone. "It's very Joss Whedon," Lee told TVLine. "We're optimistic, because Joss is a genius and we love the idea and we love what we've seen, but it's early days, and it's a long way to go between now and a successful series. But we are very excited about it." Of course, that second part could be seen as Lee hedging his bets a little. While Whedon had phenomenal success with The Avengers, much of his previous work has failed to connect with wider audiences, leading to a dedicated cult of fans but short-running TV series and an underpeforming motion picture debut in Serenity. The series is in the middle of casting, though, and is set to go before the cameras in early 2013, so the chances are good we'll start to hear more concrete information about how the network likes the series--and a potential air date for the pilot--soon.