It appears that the post-Marvel malaise of one Joss Whedon is finally concluding. That’s because Whedon, Marvel Studios’ former embattled directorial fulcrum on the first two Avengers films, will return to television, the medium on which he became a legend. Moreover, Whedon’s new project, titled The Nevers, will have a most promising platform in HBO.
The Nevers has already received a straight-to-series order, with Whedon onboard to juggle duties as writer, director and executive producer, reports THR. According to the trade’s sources, the project’s acquisition by premium cable outlet HBO was the culmination of a bidding war amongst a group of high-profile platforms that included Netflix.
Now Whedon, the legendary small screen maestro who turned a campy movie into the beloved Buffy The Vampire Slayer television franchise, will return to the medium for The Nevers. The plot of the series is described as a science fiction drama about a gang of Victorian women who gain “unusual abilities” and subsequently use their powers to fight “relentless enemies” and engage in missions with global implications.
As Whedon states about the partnership with HBO:
“I honestly couldn’t be more excited. The Nevers is maybe the most ambitious narrative I’ve created, and I can’t imagine a better home for it than HBO. Not only are they the masters of cinematic longform, but their instant understanding of my odd, intimate epic was as emotional as it was incisive. It’s been too long since I created an entirely new fictional world, and the HBO team offer not just scope and experience, not just ‘prestige,’ but a passionate collaboration. I could go on, but — I’m impatiently grateful to say — I have work to do.”
Whedon’s certainly not wrong about the peak television praise he bestows HBO, especially in the wake of the 22 Emmy nominations that Game Of Thrones season 7 just earned, as well as the six nods earned by Westworld, which contribute to its total of 108; an impressive number, notwithstanding of the fact that it will – for the first time – see HBO fall short to Netflix, which earned 112 nods. Regardless, the addition of Whedon is quite the coup for the premium cabler. As HBO programming president Casey Bloys lauds:
“We have long been fans of the incredibly talented and prolific Joss Whedon and we can’t think of a better project than The Nevers with which to welcome him to the HBO family. We look forward to meeting the strange, multifaceted characters of The Nevers, to learn their stories, see them in action and share them with our viewers. We’re honored that Joss chose HBO as the place to build his ambitious new world and we are excited to get started.”
Whedon first cemented his reputation as a staff writer on Roseanne and Parenthood before his star-making vehicles running Buffy The Vampire Slayer, its spinoff, Angel, along with the martyred fan-favourite sci-fi Western series, Firefly, as well as the cult comedy musical, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, all before the opportunity to direct 2012 Marvel mega-movie The Avengers came along. However, after his Marvel tenure imploded with the tumultuous production of 2015’s Avengers: Age Of Ultron, he took a hiatus, eventually drifting back onto the comic book movie scene, touted as the director of Warner’s upcoming DC Extended Universe offering, Batgirl… until he dropped out.
For Whedon, The Nevers marks a monumental comeback to television. While he’s always been involved in the medium in some capacity, notably brandishing credit as an executive producer on ABC’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., his work on the HBO series represents his first proper hands-on small screen tenure since his short-lived 2009 Fox sci-fi series, Dollhouse.
We will keep you updated on The Nevers as things develop.