Last summer, Digital Spy interviewed Joss Whedon on the set of The Avengers sequel. They didn't post the interview until a few days ago. In it, Whedon blames the lack of female-led superhero movies on "sexism" and "quiet misogyny." His comments stuck a nerve in the internet and they quickly went viral. With all of that attention being paid to comment he made many months ago, Whedon decided to clarify those comments. “
I just thought, I sounded very harsh,” Whedon told
Buzzfeed via a phone interview. "
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 has been a champion of female empowerment in the entertainment industry, but would he be interested in directing Marvel's
Captain Marvel? "
Um, I would never rule anything out, because I like working here. 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."
Just because Whedon isn't shy about speaking against misogyny doesn't mean that he wants to tackle Marvel Studious first female-led superhero film, but he has some good reasons why it may not be suited for him. "
Captain Marvel I don’t know as well," Whedon confessed. "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."
He is happy that Marvel is moving forward with Captain Marvel. He thinks one of the reasons it got green lit is because of the success James Gunn's
Guardians of the Galaxy had. "Honestly, you know,
Guardians [of the Galaxy] might have helped it," Whedon stated. "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."