Joss Whedon Says It's Unlikely He Will Direct Avengers: Infinity War

a new batch of stills can be seen by clicking here). The question on everyone's mind however is whether or not he will return to helm the two-part Avengers: Infinity War. There have been rumours about James Gunn possibly taking over, and later more concrete reports that Joe and Anthony Russo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) are being lined up to take over directing duties from Whedon. Talking to Empire Magazine recently, the filmmaker revealed that he may indeed choose not to return for Avengers: Infinity War. "I couldn't imagine doing this again," he told the publication. "It's enormously hard, and it will be, by then, a good five years since I created anything that was completely my own. So it's very doubtful that I would take on the two-part Infinity War movie that would eat up the next four years of my life. I obviously still want to be a part of the Marvel Universe - I love these guys - but it ain't easy. This year has been more like running three shows than any year of my life. It is bonkers." Whedon would of course make similar comments when The Avengers was released, so there's every chance he could be tempted back by Kevin Feige over the next couple of years. Of course, before we go thinking too much about that movie, 2016 will see the release of Captain America: Civil War. Adapting Mark Millar and Steve McNiven's comic book, it will pit Chris Evans' Captain America against Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark as they battle it out over whether or not superhumans should register with the government. In the same interview, Downey had this to say about what made him decide to commit to starring in Captain America 3 rather than Iron Man 4. ""They said to me, 'If we have you, we can do this, or Cap 3 has to be something else. It's nice to feel needed. And at this point it's about helping each other, too. I look at it as a competition and I go, 'Wow, maybe if these two franchises teamed up and I can take even a lesser position, with people I like and directors I respect, maybe we can keep things bumping along." As for whether or not Iron Man is about to take on a villainous persona in the MCU, he added: "I wouldn't put it that way. The biggest question is, for Chris and for Cap, how do we bring Cap to a place where people go, 'Man, I never thought I would see such a vast change in Steve.'" Depending on how closely they follow the comic books, there are big changes in store for these movies, and how much of a role Tony Stark plays in that should be very interesting...