Whilst The Avengers publicity drive is moderately picking up speed it seems director Joss Whedon has managed to squeeze in a Shakespeare adaptation alongside the potentially best/worst comic book film ever (or perhaps just an unremarkable comic-book film). There arent many details yet but the website announces the completion of principal photography (in just 12 days!) featuring a plethora of Whedon stalwarts from Buffy (Tom Lenk, Alexis Denisof), Angel (Amy Acker), Firefly (Nathan Fillion, Sean Maher) and The Avengers (Clark Gregg) amongst a vast cast that will be a modern retelling of Shakespeares play Much Ado About Nothing. Shot in black and white, the press release on the site asserts the film will be ready for the festival circuit in the spring and is the first feature from the micro studio Bellwether created by Whedon and Kai Cole. Whedon says;
The text is to me a deconstruction of the idea of love, which is ironic, since the entire production is a love letter, to the text, to the cast, even to the house its shot in.
Whedon is well known for his way with words and has been hailed as a modern day Shakespeare in some circles for his way with dialogue and ensemble characters so it will be interesting to see him take on the bard in feature film. Shot in black and white it will undoubtedly offer a completely different experience to Marvels superhero behemoth Avengers film but hopefully mainstream enough to secure a theatrical release.