August 8, 2012 
In news that should surprise no one, Joss Whedon has been confirmed as director of The Avengers‘ sequel.
The announcement was made via the Walt Disney Investors Conference Call. Whedon will both write and direct the follow-up to his box-office busting Marvel team-up flick.
There was always a risk that Whedon might not be courted back. Marvel has a history of losing actors/directors due to pay disputes and creative disagreements.
But perhaps the fact that The Avengers is the third highest grossing film of all time means Whedon has been given enough trust by the higher ups to do as he pleases on the second go around (and surely a nice raise was thrown in too).
Oh yes, saw the news first thing this morning. Very excited. I remember Wheddon saying earlier what he would do if he did do the sequel (make it smaller basically) so I am really looking forward to this.