10 Most Important Directors Of The 21st Century (So Far)

While he might be known more for creating some of the most beloved sci-fi and fantasy TV shows of the last thirty years, Joss Whedon’s footprint on the cinematic map is still a rather large one. Having done the impossible in reviving the cancelled Firefly as a big-budget movie (Whedon’s feature directorial debut), the Buffy creator also helped to redefine the internet’s role in audio visual production, with the cult comedy-musical Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog.

But his greatest success is undoubtedly Avengers Assemble, the first movie of its scale to combine multiple pre-established comic book characters into one shared fictional universe.

Though the gamble itself could perhaps be attributed to Marvel producer Kevin Feige, it was Whedon that managed to merge a World War II hero, a Nordic god, a narcissistic inventor and a green monster into something resembling a coherent and entertaining story.

Had the experiment failed, the landscape of Hollywood would probably look very different today, and whether you love or loathe the cinematic universe trend, its impact on the medium of film cannot be denied.