‘Avengers’ Director Joss Whedon Remembers Stan Lee

As soon as news of Stan Lee‘s passing began to surface, social media was taken over by fans, actors, and creators alike. One of Hollywood A-listers paying tribute to the Marvel icon was none other than director Joss Whedon, the man behind Marvel’s The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron.

“Stan Lee created a universe where, if a character was beloved enough, they could never really die,” Whedon remembered. “Now THAT’S thinking ahead.”

“Thanks for so much of my life. You’ll never not be in it.”

Lee passed away earlier today at the age of 95. He was preceded in death by his wife Joan and is survived by his daughter J.C.

“My father loved all of his fans. He was the greatest, most decent man,” J.C. told TMZ earlier this afternoon, shortly after her father’s passing.

After taking over the reigns to Justice League from Zack Snyder, Whedon was hired to helm a solo Batgirl movie for Warner Brothers, a role he has since passed on. Speaking with Variety, Whedon made it seem as if he was unhappy with the story WB had in place.

“It had been a year since I first pitched the story — a lot happened in that year. I felt some of the elements might not work as well, and the story just kind of crumbled in my hands,” Whedon admitted.

“There were elements I hadn’t mastered and after a long time felt like I wasn’t going to,” he continued. “So, I told people I didn’t have an idea, which isn’t the exact truth. I had an idea that didn’t fit in the space that was left for it. It was a little heartbreaking because I was so excited for it.”

During a Q&A two years ago, Whedonessentially confirmed he was done working for Marvel Studios and any movies set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“No. You know, I was their sort of consigliere for a while. … I sort of had my finger in all of the films in the second phase. But then I just had to concentrate only on Ultron, and sort of know that when it was done I was just going to stop,” Whedon reflected. “So I made a completely clean break. Not because we had a falling out, just because I was like, ‘I can’t.’ If I was still there going, ‘Well, here are my thoughts on this film,’ I’d be there every day. I wouldn’t do anything else. ‘Cause there’s a lot of films, and it’s a lot of fun. It’s very seductive. When you can put your little fairy dust on things and just improve them slightly, and they actually listen to you.”

“You know, I was a script doctor for a long time, and the part where they listen to you is very rare. So it was important for me to, for my own self, to just go, ‘No. We can still be friends, but…’”