Joss Whedon On Marvel & DC's Creative Processes

In the world of comics, Joss Whedon is considered by many to be a paragon. The much-loved writer and director has worked on numerous comic books and finally turned his love for superheroes into a blockbuster pursuit with The Avengers. However, after Whedon helmed Avengers: Age of Ultron, the director made it clear that he was done with the Marvel Cinematic Universe for now. His words left many to wonder whether bad-blood existed between Whedon and Marvel Studios, but if there was any, it seems to be gone now. The director praised Marvel Studios and DC Entertainment in a recent interview with Complex.

When asked about this year's slew of superhero adaptations, Whedon talks creative differences between Marvel and DC. He confessed that he hadn't seen Suicide Squad yet, but Whedon said he did watch Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice.

"Everybody's got their own method," Whedon said, nodding at the two production studios. "I think Marvel has been more successful systematically. DC has been more cinematic—their stuff looks amazing—but I feel like Kevin [Feige, President of Marvel Studios] is a really good storyteller."

The director continued, saying, "[Kevin Feige] really cares about coherence, and I feel like style never defeats substance at Marvel, but a little style creeps in. Ant-Man had some, Doctor Strange might be funky, and they are doing very fun things on TV. The Marvel-Netflix thing is working really well. DC's decision to have their shows on TV with different actors playing the same characters at the same time as their movies, is a little interesting.​"

Whedon took time to champion one of DC Entertainment's films in particular: Wonder Woman. The director was asked how it feels to see a standalone film for the heroine being made, and Whedon said he wants it to be good.

"The trailer was just wonderful. I'll probably be disappointed, me more than anybody else, because I'll be like, 'Wow, my version…' or whatever, but I can still get myself up for it. The trailer had her shield and her fire hammer and yep, I'm good," he gushed. "This will be fine, everything is good."

Towards the end of his interview, Whedon briefly talked about his personal experience with Marvel Studios and their creative processes. He said some companies will micro-manage their directors to death but that Marvel refrain from doing that to him. "They let me make two movies that were very much mine," he said.

Of course, many fans know that Whedon hasn't always felt so optimistic about his projects with Marvel Studios, especially with Avengers: Age of Ultron. The film was heavily criticized by fans and professionals who questioned the blockbuster's coherency, and Whedon even commented on those lackluster reviews.

"Ultron, I'm very proud of," he said. "There were things that did not meet my expectations of myself and then I was so beaten down by the process. Some of that was conflicting with Marvel, which is inevitable and a lot of that was about my own work."

Earlier this summer, Whedon signaled he had recovered from the backlash over Avengers: Age of Ultron when he said he'd be interested in returning to the MCU - but only for Black Widow. The director told IGN that he'd absolutely make a solo film for her given his fondness of the character.