Whedon to Direct the Avengers!

Remember that story from April Fool's Day about Joss Whedon possibly directing Marvel Studios'  The Avengers? Although it may have smelled like a prank, it clearly wasn't, and now it's looking like a done deal. Deadline is reporting that the Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator and fanboy god is in final negotiations to helm the project.

Whedon obviously brings a ton of comic book cred to the film, which brings the likes of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and other Marvel heroes together into one amazing superteam. Besides Buff, Whedon turned heads with his sci-fi western, Serenity, and spent four years writing Marvel Comics' Astonishing X-men series.

Marvel has been planning a May 2012 rollout for the film for quite some time, after lead-ins by it's other tentpole superhero flicks.

I'd be more excited about this if Whedon was writing the script, since he has such a distinctive style, capable of hitting all the right fanboy buttons while keeping everything light and fresh. Still, this is a wise, bold choice by Marvel snagging one of the genres biggest names and unique voices.