It was recently announced that director Joss Whedon will not only be directing The Avengers 2, but he will also be co-writing and directing (if time permits) the new ABC TV series S.H.I.E.L.D., based on the clandestine organization lead by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in the movies. For the moment, Joss Whedon seems to be the most important key in the Marvel Studios Universe.

But what does that all mean?

The director, who was a cult icon before becoming the man with the biggest movie of the summer, recently spoke out on both the decision to do S.H.I.E.L.D. and his contract with Marvel, calling himself a consigliore of this huge operation.

First, Joss Whedon explains why he decided to dip his hands even further into the Marvel cinematic universe, working as not just a director on his own projects, but also as a creative consultant on everything else that ties into those projects.

"It was part of what made it attractive to me. I loved the idea of being a consigliere. Every writer loves the idea of being able to go in and fix a problem and then leave without obligation. It's fun! I also love these characters and the Marvel universe, and I grew up reading the books, and I've been going back and reading the old books and realizing that they shaped my storytelling way more than I give them credit for. Now I'm starting up a TV show, which is something I really wanted to do, but I thought it wasn't going to be a part of my life for the next several years. It's like a tapas menus of projects that excite me, in addition to The Avengers 2, which I'm excited for because I'm incredibly excited about the next story that I'm going to tell. For me, it's a huge win."

He continues on the subject.

"It is unbelievably daunting, especially because I don't want to lose sight of all the other things I have on my docket and in my heart. So, it's going to be an insane few years, but I feel ready for that. It's an unholy amount of productivity, but as long as I give it all I can, it's a good thing. What's great is that the deal with Marvel is nonspecific, so I will give all I can, but the moment I can't, I just walk away. The moment I say, "You know, I'd like to help more on this project, but I need this time for The Avengers 2," there's no obligation. It's not like, "You must spend this amount of time on this movie." It's as much as it needs to be."

Joss Whedon then talked about his commitment to S.H.I.E.L.D. as an hour long adventure series for ABC TV.

"The important thing to me is that we know what the show is. We love what it is. It came together very organically, so when we went in to pitch [to Marvel], it wasn't like, We're trying to find this because you want a TV show, it was, "Check this out!" And that's a good way to walk in a room.

 Good support is wonderful, but it's not a hill of beans, because they may give us all this support and then decide, "Eh. Yeah, it's Friday." They might give us all the support and then not do that, but then audiences might go, "Yeahhh ... no." You just can't be sure. What I do know is that it's the show it should be, and we've got some really dope notions. It's going to work very well for people who either love the Marvel universe or for people who've never dipped a toe in the Marvel universe."