The Avengers was a mega hit, and proved to be more successful than initially thought possible. Aside from the film’s significant star power, the success was attributed to writer/director Joss Whedon‘s affinity with the comic source material and his skills at crafting a multi-layered story that brought his TV and film experience full circle.

Although The Avengers raked in more than a billion at the global box-office, there was still the chance that Marvel and their cost cutting measures might hire another director for the sequel. At last month’s Comic-con, Whedon knowing he was holding all the cards, was playing coy about committing to the sequel – waiting for what’s thought to be a very lucrative deal.  

Now fans can take a collective sigh of relief in knowing that Whedon has signed on to write and direct the sequel, and just so he’s worth every penny, he’s also been contracted to develop a Marvel-themed TV show for Disney/ ABC.  The creative mastermind will likely be adding some insight and thoughts on the sequels,  Captain America: Winter Soldier, and Thor: The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, seeing that these characters will require the necessary story threads to justify the Avengers reunion.

The Avengers 2 is expected to hit theaters sometime in 2015.