Taking A Back Seat On Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD Was 'Weirdly Refreshing' For Joss Whedon

Joss Whedon is apparently not a good person. You've heard this, we've heard this, everyone has heard this. Another thing that everyone knows is how deeply ingrained he is not only in popular culture but in successful and beloved popular culture. Whedon's writing credits include "Toy Story," "Firefly," and "Marvel's Avengers." His directing credits include the latter of those two projects, as well as "The Office" and "Glee." See what we're saying? Before Hollywood realized that he was a financial taboo (which is, tragically, the only language capitalism speaks), Whedon was everywhere. 

You'll notice, too, that his credits often came in clumps. Whedon tended to serve as both writer and director on his projects. The man valued his creative control, wherever he could find it. So it might be surprising, then, to know that he valued the opposite for his service to "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," a series for which he is credited as a co-creator and an executive producer (and part-time director, if you must know). In fact, he considered the ability to oversee the series from afar to be refreshing. Here's the story, as shared by Whedon himself. 

During a 2013 interview with Collider, Joss Whedon expressed how sharing the "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." showrunner workload with his brother, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen made the process much easier, and that they expanded the series in ways he could never have done on his own. Whedon said:

"It is weirdly refreshing. It was very important to me to get [Jed and Maurissa]. When we did 'Dr. Horrible,' and even when we worked on 'Dollhouse,' we very much had that finishing each other's sentences thing. And not just Jed, but Maurissa, as well. I'm reading every script and every story, and giving notes and rewrites. I'm doing all of the stuff, but I just can't be in the room, every day. Knowing that I have a group who's going to push it forward and share this hard to convey idea of exactly how I want the show to feel, is a great relief. It's why you do television. You build these families. You find people like Jed, Drew Goddard and Tim Minear, who are going to take your vision and not just further it, but enhance it in ways you couldn't see coming."

"Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." ran for seven moderately successful seasons and ended in August, 2020, which functionally means that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has only been totally outside of Whedon's sphere of influence for a few short years. While the series was never really allowed to affect the MCU, it's possible that some of Whedon's cast will find new life in Marvel's future. In that way, Whedon will, unfortunately, remain in the car. If it helps, though, it's more like he's in the trunk, rather than the back seat. And that's almost comforting.