Fanboys can breathe a little easier this week as the man behind the biggest movie of 2012 has finally been secured for the sequel. It was probably just assumed by most that Joss Whedon would be back for The Avengers 2, but he did not have a multi-picture deal with Marvel and up until now was not officially signed on for the next film. Considering Marvel’s penchant for penny-pinching, it was entirely possible that they would just hire some jobber to take his place, but fortunately they confirmed yesterday that Whedon will indeed write and direct The Avengers 2. There’s also a slightly more surprising piece of news to go with that announcement, however: Whedon will also be helping to establish a new live action TV series for Marvel.

Although the full details of the deal were not made public, Variety reports that Whedon has signed an exclusive deal with Marvel through to June 2015. Here’s what Disney chief Bob Iger had to say:

“Joss Whedon has signed an exclusive deal with Marvel Studios for film and television through the end of June 2015… As part of that deal, Whedon will write and direct Marvel’s The Avengers 2 as well as help develop a new live action series for Marvel Television at ABC. He will also contribute creatively to the next phase of Marvel’s cinematic universe.”

It certainly sounds like they are not taking Joss Whedon for granted, and they want him as a key member of their creative team moving forward. It’s unclear if the exclusive deal still allows him to do little indie projects on the side (ie. Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog 2) but it probably just restricts him from working with other studios for the next few years.

As for the TV series, we first heard about it a couple of weeks ago, and it will supposedly be set in The Avengers universe but will not focus on any of the main characters in the movie. Given Whedon’s background in TV, this is also a no-brainer and seems like a perfect fit. Who knows, it may even be the first Whedon TV project that doesn’t get canceled prematurely! Are you happy to see Joss Whedon play such an important role in the future of Marvel or were you hoping for someone fresh to take over the reins on The Avengers 2? Are you worried that this might prevent him from doing his own original projects over the next few years?